“Aboutwear”, a subsidiary of the textile manufacturer “Utenos trikotažas” belonging to the Lithuanian group of companies “Aboutwear” has won the trademark case and succeeded in restricting the use of the trademark of the German fashion online retailer “About You” in the European Union (EU), reports the Lithuanian business news portal “vz. lt”.
The EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) partially granted the Lithuanian company’s request and invalidated the “About You” trademark in classes 25 and 35: clothing, footwear, headgear, as well as online retail (handbags, textiles, clothing, etc.) .
The “About You” trademark will be invalid for online sales of clothing, footwear, headgear, and retail sales of handbags, clothing, textiles and similar goods.
The aggressive advertising campaign of the German brand “About You” in Lithuania and the misleading similarity with the Lithuanian brand “Aboutwear” caused losses to the Lithuanian company and it had to adjust its business strategy, said Dovile Tamosevičiene, chairman of the board of “Utenos trikotaža”, adding that the EUIPO’s decision not only restores justice , but also shows that companies with billions of euros in turnover must respect the trademarks and other intellectual property of much smaller companies.
In 2022, the Lithuanian company asked the EU authorities to recognize the trademark “About You” as invalid throughout the EU in relation to identical goods and services covered by the “Aboutwear” trademark “About Baltic Underwear”, which was registered in the EU in 2011.
“About You” store. Photo: AINO Hamburg
Tags: Lithuanian company achieves trademark restrictions European Union
