Newsletter
| Areva goes green |
| Tuesday, 22 April 2008 | |
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The French cour de cassation in a decision rendered the 8th April 2008 has overuled the jurisprudence forbidding the parody of registered trademarks. In this important decision, the associations Greenpeace France and Greenpeace New-Zealand had reproduced on their websites the letter A of the brand of the French Organization for atomic energy and the name Areva, both in association with a skull head and the slogan "Stop Plutonium, l’arret va de soi" which is a pun associating the brand Areva and the necessity to abandon the atomic energy. The companies sued the Greenpeace associations for trademark counterfeting and damages to the brand image.
The Court of Appeal had judged that the pun and the logo had damaged the brand image and its reputation, according to the article 1382 of the civil code, and had condemned the associations to the payment of one euro, for the principles.
The Cour de cassation overruled the Appeal decision : -"(...) as long as the associations were acting in conformity with the general interest and to the interest of the public health, with means in proportion with the aim pursued, and had not abused of their freedom of speech, the Court of Appeal has infringed the above mentioned texts;".
The associations Greenpeace have thus been able to do a parody of the Areva companies without causing a risk of confusion in the public's mind, without damaging the image and reputation of Areva, and above all, without abuse of their freedom of speech.
This decision adds a new exception to the trademark law in France.
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