In a recent judgment (Number 229/2009), in the context of provisional measures proceedings, the Athens Single Bench Court of First Instance granted an injunction against a hotelier who was using the composite sign "Athens Easy Hotel" in white lettering with an orange background in the course of his business. The EasyGroup company owned by Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the serial entrepreneur, which owns the easy brand including various CTM registrations, such as Easy Hotel and Easy Hostel, sought injunctive relief against the defendant.

The Court had no difficulty in ruling that there was a straightforward trade mark infringement, since the marks under comparison were identical in respect of both the words and colours used. It was also held that the additional indication "Athens" in the defendant's mark does not differentiate the defendant's mark from the earlier well-known trade marks in the claimant's name. On the contrary, likelihood of confusion intensifies, since hotel chains with a presence in various countries may reasonably designate each of their hotel business by reference to the place where the hotel is located (such as London Hilton, Athens Hilton).

Moreover, the Court dismissed the defendant's objection that there was lack of legitimate interest on the claimant's part, as EasyGroup's CTMs are not in use in Greece. It was held that this allegation is irrelevant on the grounds that use of a CTM within the jurisdiction of an EU member state is by no means a requisite for that CTM in that jurisdiction.

Similarly, the Court dismissed the defendant's objection that the term "easy" lacks distinctiveness. In this respect, it was held that the CTMs at issue are fully protected and their owner may legitimately exercise the corresponding trade mark rights, given that they have not been declared invalid.

Finally, the Court dismissed the defendant's objection that the claimant had abused the process, as the defendant has been using the sign "Athens Easy Hotel" since May 2007, while the claimant is not doing business in Greece and has not taken any legal action for more than a year since the defendant's first use of the sign concerned. In this respect, the Court followed well-established case law, according to which the claimant is not in an abuse of process as long as there is no indication deriving from the claimant's conduct, which may make the defendant positively and reasonably perceive that the former will not commence legal proceedings against the latter seeking protection of its lawful rights.

Although infringement was straightforward in this case, it may serve as a good precedent in the future, in particular for the well-reasoned ruling relating to the defendant's line of objections, which are rather popular in similar cases in injunction proceedings in Greece. In some previous instances before the lower courts, such an argument was (erroneously) successful.

Patrinos & Kilimiris acted for EasyGroup IP Licensing Ltd in this case

Manolis Metaxakis

Patrinos & Kilimiris
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