Defeat for the eggnog producer Verpoorten in the dispute over trademark rights: the competitor Nordik is also allowed to use an egg slogan in advertising. That was decided by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.
In the dispute between two eggnog manufacturers, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court has rejected a lawsuit brought by the spirits manufacturer Verpoorten. The competitor Nordik from Jork in Lower Saxony is allowed to advertise its bottles with the slogan “Ei, Ei, Ei, Ei, Ei”. According to the court, this does not violate the word mark “EiEiEi”, which Verpoorten had registered in 1979.
Nordik had advertised eggnog bottles for several flavors with the fivefold “egg”. Verpoorten’s lawyers saw this as a “clear reference” and too close to the well-known slogan “Eieiei Verpoorten”.
Judgment not yet final
The court saw it differently: According to Senate Chairman Erfried Schüttpelz, an egg liqueur manufacturer cannot be forbidden to refer to the egg as a raw material. The overall appearance of Nordik’s online advertising also shows that the word sequence “Ei, Ei, Ei, Ei, Ei” is merely a reference to ingredients.
With today’s verdict, the court confirmed its preliminary assessment from March. In addition, the court did not allow an appeal. However, Verpoorten could still appeal to the Federal Court of Justice (BHG) against this non-admission. Therefore, the judgment is not yet final.
Application to the patent office failed
However, the manufacturer Nordik had previously failed with an application to the German Trademark and Patent Office in Munich to have the five-fold egg list protected as its own trademark. The mere reference to the basis of all eggnog is not protectable, it said.