Non-EU Reputation Versus Revocation for Non-Use: Bad-Faith Registration and Unfair Competition in European Union Trademark Law (on the Frisby Case)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26422/RIPI.2026.2400.herKeywords:
trade mark revocation, genuine use, bad-faith trade mark registration, trade mark squatting, unfair competition, European Union Trade Mark, Andean Community Decision 486, FrisbyAbstract
This reflective article examines the structural tensions faced by European Union trade mark law in relation to the instrumentalisation of revocation for non-use and the undue appropriation of reputation established in non-EU markets. Drawing on the Frisby case, involving the Colombian company Frisby SA BIC and the Spanish company Frisby España SL, the study explores the limitations of the European trade mark regime in addressing registration strategies aimed at appropriating the economic and distinctive value generated by trade marks established outside the territory of the European Union. Through an analysis of the applicable legal framework, the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and national courts, as well as the relevant academic literature, the article examines the interaction between revocation for non-use, invalidity on the grounds of bad-faith trade mark registration, and protection against the parasitic exploitation of another undertaking’s reputation through the rules of unfair competition. It also compares this issue with the Andean legal framework established under Decision 486 of the Andean Community, highlighting the differences in the protection of well-known trade marks and the prevention of opportunistic trade mark registrations. The study concludes that an adaptation of both legislative and judicial criteria, together with a systematic and integrated interpretation of these legal institutions, is required in order to provide an appropriate response to the increasingly frequent occurrence of parasitic commercial practices.
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