Markos P. Spanos & Co LLC successfully represented Regis Milk Industries Ltd, one of Cyprus’s oldest ice cream manufacturers, against a major competitor in high-profile civil litigation proceedings concerning unfair competition, passing off and trademark rights over the ice cream product brand “Plaka”.
Having produced “Plaka” in Cyprus since the 1950s, Regis faced a challenge in 2019 when a competitor launched a similar product under the same name.
The firm initiated civil action no. 1655/2019 for passing off and unfair competition, alongside an application for interim relief. The firm successfully secured an interim injunction – later upheld on appeal – prohibiting the defendants from selling, advertising or distributing ice cream in confusingly similar packaging pending final judgment.
Parallel to the court proceedings, the firm filed six national trademark applications and managed six contested administrative proceedings before the Registrar of Trademarks (five oppositions and one cancellation). Following the favourable injunction ruling, the case was settled in July this year with our Firm withdrawing the civil action after securing the withdrawal of all contested trademark matters, fully safeguarding the client’s brand.
This case established a first-of-its-kind, clear judicial precedent in Cyprus that long-term commercial use and market presence generate acquired secondary meaning and protectable goodwill, even when a product name is alleged to be generic.
We are pleased to have contributed this case to the Featured Cases of the 3rd edition of The Legal Industry Reviews’ Cyprus chapter.
