Case Law[2023] ZASCA 175South Africa
Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. v Takis Biltong (293/2022) [2023] ZASCA 175; 2023 BIP 9 (SCA) (14 December 2023)
Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
14 December 2023
Headnotes
Summary: Reconsideration of dismissal of application for special leave to appeal ─ cancellation of applicant’s trade mark ─ Takis Fuego ─ likely to deceive or cause confusion by virtue of similarity to respondent’s Takis Biltong mark.
Judgment
begin wrapper
begin container
begin header
begin slogan-floater
end slogan-floater
- About SAFLII
About SAFLII
- Databases
Databases
- Search
Search
- Terms of Use
Terms of Use
- RSS Feeds
RSS Feeds
end header
begin main
begin center
# South Africa: Supreme Court of Appeal
South Africa: Supreme Court of Appeal
You are here:
SAFLII
>>
Databases
>>
South Africa: Supreme Court of Appeal
>>
2023
>>
[2023] ZASCA 175
|
Noteup
|
LawCite
sino index
## Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. v Takis Biltong (293/2022) [2023] ZASCA 175; 2023 BIP 9 (SCA) (14 December 2023)
Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. v Takis Biltong (293/2022) [2023] ZASCA 175; 2023 BIP 9 (SCA) (14 December 2023)
Download original files
PDF format
RTF format
Links to summary
PDF format
RTF format
make_database: source=/home/saflii//raw/ZASCA/Data/2023_175.html
sino date 14 December 2023
THE SUPREME COURT OF
APPEAL OF SOUTH AFRICA
### JUDGMENT
JUDGMENT
Reportable
Case
no: 293/2022
In the matter between:
GRUPO
BIMBO S.A.B. DE
C.V.
APPELLANT
and
TAKIS
BILTONG (PTY)
LTD
RESPONDENT
Neutral
citation:
Grupo
Bimbo S.A.B. v Takis Biltong
(293/2022)
[2023] ZASCA 175
(14 December 2023)
Coram:
MOLEMELA P, NICHOLLS and MEYER JJA, KOEN and
KATHREE-SETILOANE AJJA
Heard:
8 November 2023
Delivered:
This judgment was handed down electronically by
circulation to the parties’ representatives by email, published
on the Supreme
Court of Appeal website, and released to SAFLII. The
date and time for hand-down is deemed to be 11h00 on 14 December
2023.
Summary:
Reconsideration of
dismissal
of application for special leave to appeal ─ cancellation of
applicant’s trade mark ─ Takis Fuego ─
likely to
deceive or cause confusion by virtue of similarity to respondent’s
Takis Biltong mark.
ORDER
On
appeal from:
Gauteng Division of the
High Court, Pretoria (Davis J and Nemavhidi AJ concurring and Makgoba
J dissenting, sitting as court of
appeal):
The application for the
reconsideration of the order of this Court granted on 8 March 2022
dismissing the applicant’s
application for special leave to
appeal is dismissed with costs.
#
# JUDGMENT
JUDGMENT
Kathree-Setiloane AJA
(Molemela P, Nicholls and Meyer JJA and Koen AJA concurring):
[1]
This is a reconsideration of the order of this Court, dated 8 March
2022, dismissing
the application for special leave to appeal against
the order of Davis J and Nemavhidi AJ (the majority), in the Gauteng
Division
of the High Court, Pretoria (the high court). The majority
made an order cancelling trademark registration no. 2012/14977 TAKIS
FUEGO device in class 30 (the impugned mark). On 31 October 2022, the
decision dismissing the application for special leave to
appeal
against that order was referred by Petse AP (as he then was) for
reconsideration and, if necessary, variation, in terms
of s 17(2)(
f
)
of the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013 (the
Superior Courts Act). He
also referred the application for special leave to appeal for oral
argument in terms of
s 17(2)(
d
) of the
Superior Courts
Act.
Background
[2]
The applicant, Grupo Bimbo S.A.B.DE C.V (the applicant), a Mexican
company which trades
in many countries including South Africa, is the
proprietor of the impugned mark. It was registered in South Africa on
6 June 2012
and covers the following class 30 goods: ‘Bread,
pastry, corn flour chips, wheat flour chips, corn extruded, wheat
extruded,
pop corns’. The impugned mark is depicted as follows:
[3]
The respondent, Takis Biltong Pty Ltd (the respondent), is a South
African company
which sells biltong and other snack products in South
Africa. It is the registered proprietor of the following two
trademarks (the
registered TAKIS LOGO marks):
[4]
Both registered TAKIS LOGO marks were registered on 8 May 2007 in
class 29. They cover
the following goods: ‘Meat, fish, poultry,
and game, preserved meats, meat extracts, sausages’. On 24
April 2015, the
respondent applied to register a TAKIS LOGO mark and
three TAKIS word marks. These applications are still pending.
[1]
The goods covered by these pending applications are: (a) class 29 –
meat, meat products, processed meat, biltong, meat extracts,
potato
crisps and chips, processed nuts, dried fruit; class 30 –
sweets and confectionary; and class 31 – nuts of all
kinds
(unprocessed), raisins, snack foods of all kinds included in this
class’.
[5]
The respondent applied to the high court, in terms of
s 24
[2]
of the Trade Marks Act 194 of 1993 (the
Trade Marks Act), to
expunge
the impugned mark. Vorster AJ (the court of first instance) dismissed
the application. The respondent appealed against
that decision to the
full court. On appeal, the majority set aside the order of the court
of first instance and replaced it with
one cancelling the impugned
mark. The majority found that on comparison of the marks in question,
they are so similar that there
is a likelihood of confusion or
deception arising in the marketplace. Concerning the goods in
question, the majority applied the
test in
British
Sugar PLC v James Robertson & Sons Ltd
[3]
(
British
Sugar
)
and concluded that the goods are similar. It also found that there
was sufficient uncontroverted evidence establishing the requisite
reputation of the respondent. The majority, accordingly, held that
the requirements of
ss 10(12)
,
10
(14),
10
(16), and
10
(17) of the
Trade Marks Act
[4
] had been
satisfied. The minority (Makgoba J) found, to the contrary, that
although the marks in question are similar, the goods
in question are
not. It concluded that there is no likelihood of deception or
confusion arising in the marketplace.
[6]
For the applicant to succeed in the application for special leave to
appeal against
the order of the majority,
it
must show something more than the existence of reasonable prospects
of success on appeal.
[5]
In
Cook
v Morrison and Another
this Court held:
[6]
‘
The
existence of reasonable prospects of success is a necessary but
insufficient precondition for the granting of special leave.
Something more, by way of special circumstances, is needed. These may
include that the appeal raises a substantial point of law;
or that
the prospects of success are so strong that a refusal of leave would
result in a manifest denial of justice; or that the
matter is of very
great importance to the parties or to the public. This is not a
closed list…’
[7]
The only ground that the applicant advanced for the grant of special
leave to appeal
was that there is an equal split, between the judge
in the court of first instance and the three judges in the full
court, in their
findings on the likelihood of deception or confusion
arising between the two marks in question. The applicant contends
that this
factor alone demonstrates special circumstances. I disagree
as this would mean that in every case where there is a dissenting
judgment,
a litigant would be entitled, without more, to an order
granting special leave to appeal in terms of
s 16(1)(
d
) of the
Superior Courts Act.
[8
]
Although the applicant’s failure to establish special
circumstances is sufficient
reason to dismiss the application for
special leave to appeal, I will nevertheless proceed to consider
whether there would be a
reasonable prospect of success on appeal.
The test of what constitutes a reasonable prospect of success is well
established. The
applicant must convince the court that there is ‘a
realistic chance of success on appeal’. In other words, it must
demonstrate that ‘there is a sound rational basis to conclude
that there is a reasonable prospect of success on appeal’.
[7]
Are the marks so
similar that there is a likelihood of deception and confusion
arising?
[9]
The respondent sought to expunge the impugned mark from the trademark
register in
terms of
s 24
read with
ss 10(12)
,
10
(14),
10
(16) and
10
(17) of the
Trade Marks Act. Section
24 entitles an interested
party to apply to court to have the trademark register rectified by
inter alia
removing any entry ‘wrongly made in or wrongly remaining on the
register’.
Section 10
provides in
relevant part:
‘
The
following marks shall not be registered as trademarks or, if
registered, shall subject to the provisions of
sections 3
and
70
, be
liable to be removed from the register:
. . .
(12)
a mark which is inherently deceptive or the use of which would be
likely to deceive or cause
confusion, be contrary to law, be
contra
bonos mores
, or be likely to give offence to any class of
persons;
. . .
(14)
subject to the provisions of
section 14
, a mark which is identical to
a registered trademark belonging to a different proprietor or so
similar thereto that the use thereof
in relation to goods or services
in respect of which it is sought to be registered and which are the
same as or similar to the
goods or services in respect of which such
trade mark is registered, would be likely to deceive or will cause
confusion, unless
the proprietor of such trade mark consents to the
registration of such mark;
. . .
(16)
a mark which is the subject of an earlier application as contemplated
in paragraph (15), if the
registration of that mark is contrary to
existing rights of the person making the later application for
registration as contemplated
in that paragraph;
(17)
a mark which is identical or similar to a trade mark which is already
registered and which is
well-known in the Republic, if the use of the
mark sought to be registered would be likely to take unfair advantage
of, or be detrimental
to, the distinctive character or the repute of
the registered trade mark, notwithstanding the absence of deception
or confusion:
‘
Provided
that a mark shall not be refused registration by virtue of the
provisions of paragraph (2) or, if registered, shall not
be liable to
be removed from the register by virtue of the said provisions if at
the date of the application for registration or
at the date of an
application for removal from the register, as the case may be, it has
in fact become capable of distinguishing
within the meaning of
section 9
as a result of use made of the mark.’
[10]
Two questions arise for determination in so far as the application of
s 10(12
) of the
Trade Marks Act is
concerned. The first is whether
the marks are so similar that there is a likelihood of deception and
confusion arising, and the
second is whether the respondent enjoys a
protectable reputation in its registered TAKIS LOGO mark.
[8]
In relation to the latter question, the applicant has conceded that
the respondent enjoys a protectable reputation in its registered
TAKIS LOGO mark in respect of biltong and droëwors products and
can rely on that use and reputation for the purposes of an
attack
based on
ss 10(12)
and
10
(17) of the
Trade Marks Act.
[11
]
For purposes of determining the first question, it is important to
draw a distinction between deception
and confusion in the comparison
of trademarks. Where two trademarks belonging to different
proprietors are compared, deception
would result if their similarity
were to cause consumers to assume that goods bearing the trade marks
come from the same source.
Conversely, confusion would occur if the
similarity in the trade marks would cause consumers to wonder if the
goods had a common
origin.
[9]
In
comparing the marks to determine whether such confusion or deception
is likely to arise, the court must have regard to the impact
which
the marks would make on a notional person of average intelligence,
having proper eyesight and buying with ordinary caution
and, who is
likely to buy the goods to which the marks are applied.
[10]
The notional use test envisages the use of the trade mark ‘…in
a fair and normal manner in relation to any or all
of the goods or
services in respect of which the existing mark is registered and in
respect of which the other mark is sought to
be registered’.
[11]
[12]
The court must not compare the marks ‘…in the calm,
quiet intellectual atmosphere
of a court room or of a study…’
but must notionally transport itself to the marketplace and stand in
the shoes of
the potential customer.
[12]
Where the marks contain a dominant feature or idea, it is the impact
which this dominant feature is likely to make on the mind
of the
consumer which must be taken into account. This Court, in
Pepsico
Inc v Atlantic Industries
,
[13]
(
Pepsico
Inc
)
articulated the test as follows:
‘
In
testing for deception and confusion, courts will usually identify the
features, if any, of the respective marks which are dominant.
If they
share a dominant feature, there is ordinarily a greater likelihood of
deception or confusion. As recently affirmed by this
court, in the
global assessment of the marks ‘the visual, aural and
conceptual similarities of the marks must be assessed
by reference to
the overall impressions created by the marks bearing in mind their
distinctive and dominant components.’
[13]
Trademarks are remembered by general impressions or some significant
or striking feature and
not by a photographic recollection of the
whole.
[14]
The idea conveyed
by a mark is likely to impress itself on the mind and remain in the
memory even though the details of the two
marks may be very
different. This is why the comparison is to be made between the
dominant impression of the mark, or the main
idea or impression left
on the mind by each of the marks, having regard to any essential or
salient or leading or striking feature
or features in each.
[15]
Since the first impression of a mark is particularly important, a
court must not peer too closely at the marks to find similarities
or
differences. In considering whether a mark is confusing and
deceptive, the court must remain mindful that the consumer would
not
have had the opportunity of carefully considering the marks and
comparing them side-by-side.
[16]
In making the comparison, the court must assume that the trademark
applicant will make normal and fair use of its mark. If the
mark is
likely to be abbreviated in use, this must also be considered.
[17]
[14]
Applying these considerations to the marks in question, it is evident
that the dominant, integral,
or essential element of both marks is
the identical word TAKIS. It is undisputed, in this regard, that
TAKIS is an invented word.
It has no meaning in the English language.
It is these features of the registered TAKIS LOGO mark which give it
an inherent distinctiveness,
such that no person can claim an
entitlement to use the word in a descriptive context. This means that
the addition of any other
word or logo will not serve to distinguish.
As pointed out by the respondents, the registered TAKIS LOGO mark has
the inherent
degree of distinctiveness that puts it into the category
of a class of trademarks such as, for example, SAMSUNG, TOYOTA,
MOTOROLA,
and NOKIA. It is the distinct and unique character of the
registered TAKIS LOGO mark that distinguishes it from the SOUL
SOUVLAKI
matter,
[18]
where
this Court found that the word ‘soul’ is a common word in
everyday use.
[19]
On the
contrary, TAKIS is not a common word in everyday use.
[15]
A matter which is not intrinsic to the mark, and which has no trade
mark significance must be
excluded from the comparison.
[20]
Importantly in this regard, the word FUEGO
[21]
in the impugned mark does not serve to distinguish the marks. It is a
secondary word which, as disclosed by the applicant, serves
to
describe the flavour of the product in a range of TAKIS flavour
variations.
[22]
The majority
correctly excluded the word FUEGO from the comparison as it has no
trademark significance. By the same token, the
words ‘biltong’
and ‘very lekker’ in the registered TAKIS LOGO marks,
must also be excluded.
[16]
Both marks contain the dominant distinctive common element TAKIS. As
held by the majority, this
dominant element renders the marks
phonetically, visually, and conceptually, deceptively or confusingly
similar. Visually, it is
the word TAKIS that the consumer sees
branded on the goods. The marks are also aurally and conceptually
identical to the consumer.
The marks are so similar, if not
identical, that they arguably meet the standard required to be the
same in all respects,
[23]
for
the purposes of being deceptively or confusingly similar. Suffice it
to say, the marks must only be deceptively or confusingly
similar on
one level of comparison.
[24]
[17]
Given its distinctive character, the applicant has made no attempt to
distinguish the registered
TAKIS LOGO marks from the impugned one.
The assertion, in its answering affidavit, that it intends to oppose
the respondent’s
pending class 30 applications comes as no
surprise. By intending to do so, the applicant has accepted that the
two marks are deceptively
or confusingly similar. In the face of this
concession, I see no sound or rational basis for concluding that
there is a reasonable
prospect of success on this ground. To sum up
on this point, the two marks are sufficiently similar to create a
likelihood of deception
or confusion as contemplated in
s 10(12)
of
the
Trade Marks Act.
Are
the goods similar?
[18]
In
New
Media Publishing (Pty) Ltd v Eating Out Webservices CC and
Another
,
[25]
it was held that there is an interdependence between the ‘comparison
of marks’ test and the ‘comparison of goods’
test.
As confirmed by this Court in
Mettenheimer
and Another v Zonquasdrift Vineyards CC and Others
,
the greater the similarity between the marks in question the lesser
will be the degree of similarity required between the goods,
and
vice
versa
.
[26]
This is of particular significance in this matter because the trade
marks in question are very similar, if not identical. Thus,
the
lesser will be the required degree of similarity between the goods in
question.
[19]
The applicant’s primary ground of appeal is that the majority
erred in concluding that
the goods in question are similar. Its core
complaint is that because the impugned marks are registered in
different classes, the
goods are clearly different. The one covers
plant products and the other meat products. Their only similarity is
that they are
both food products, but their composition is vastly
different. This argument is unsustainable as it is common cause that
the goods
covered by both marks are ‘snack foods’. The
applicant admitted as much in its answering affidavit when it said:
‘
Although
both are snack foods, [the applicant] is primarily involved in the
sale of tortilla chips, falling into class 30, whereas
[the
respondent] is primarily involved in the sale of meat products,
falling into clas
s 29.
The products of [the respondent] are
considered more ‘healthy’ snack foods ….’
‘
It
is submitted that the meat products (and, indeed, the rest of the
range that the [respondent] claims to sell are considered,
by members
of the public, as being more ‘healthy’ snacks. I submit,
in this group, are nuts and dried fruit. Crisps
are considered as one
of the unhealthiest snacks.’
[20]
However, the applicant does not dispute that class 29 meat products
on which the respondent’s
registered TAKIS LOGO mark is used
include, amongst others, biltong, dry wors, chicken biltong, game
biltong,
biltong crisps
, stokkies, chilli
biltong crisps
,
chilli biltong, peri-peri biltong, ostrich biltong, chilli stokkies,
beef strips, salami sticks and cabanossi sticks etc. It,
nevertheless, seeks to differentiate biltong crisps and chilli
biltong crisps (as meat products) from ‘potato or corn or
other
conventional types of crisps’. In view of its concession that
all the goods in question are ‘snack products’
–
which
de facto
make them similar and related goods –
this attempt to differentiate the goods is pointless.
[21]
The undisputed photographic evidence annexed to the respondent’s
founding affidavit confirms
that snack foods such as biltong and
related snack products are sold in convenience and retail stores side
by side to other snack
products including crisps/chips, ice-creams,
popcorn, peanuts, and nuts in general. Not only did the applicant
concede this in
its answering affidavit, but it also conceded that
the goods in question are sold in the same trade channels and to the
same consumers.
Notably, the Sunday Times’ GenNext Survey lists
the registered TAKIS LOGO mark, in its 2012 to 2015 brand survey, as
one
of the top ten snack food brands, together with other chip and/or
crisp brands. It is common cause, in this regard, that the average
consumer is accustomed to offerings of snack foods such as chips
and/or crisps and biltong at social functions and parties.
[22]
In assessing the similarity of the goods concerned, the majority was
correct in taking into consideration
the factors set out in
British
Sugar.
[27]
These factors include (a) the respective uses of the goods; (b) their
respective users; (c) the physical nature of the goods; (d)
the trade
channels; (e) where they are found in the supermarkets; and (f)
whether or not they are competitive. On applying these
factors to the
marks in question, it is clear that:
(a)
the respective uses of the respective goods
are identical – all the goods are snack foods, and they are
consumed as snack
foods.
(b)
the consumers who use the goods are
identical – a consumer is anyone who purchases snack foods
irrespective of age, gender,
race, nationality etc.
(c)
the physical nature of the goods is
identical or similar – depending on what goods are considered.
Chips and crisps are identical
– be they made of potatoes or
tortillas. This is conceded by the applicant in its answering
affidavit. Meat crisps are also
similar to potato or tortilla crisps
– they are all crisps. Biltong, droëwors, nuts, Japanese
crackers and other savoury
snack foods are similar in nature to snack
goods such as chips and crisps;
(d)
the trade channels through which the goods
reach the market are identical;
(e)
the goods are sold, in the case of self-service consumer items in,
amongst others, the same
or the identical convenience and retail
stores and are placed side by side on display shelves or even on the
same shelf; and
(f)
the goods compete as they are snack foods.
[23]
The respondent has, accordingly, established for purposes of
s 10(14)
of the
Trade Marks Act that
the impugned mark was wrongly entered in
the trade mark register as it is (a) identical to or so similar to
the respondent’s
registered TAKIS LOGO marks; (b) used on the
same or similar goods (snack foods) as the respondent’s
registered TAKIS LOGO
marks are used; and (c) likely to deceive or
cause confusion.
Is the impugned mark
likely to take advantage of, or be detrimental to, the respondent’s
registered mark?
[24]
Section 10(17)
of the
Trade Marks Act provides
that a mark can be
opposed or cancelled if it is identical to or similar to a trade mark
which is already registered and which
is well-known in the Republic,
if the use of the mark sought to be registered would be likely to
take unfair advantage of, or be
detrimental to, the distinctive
character or the repute of the registered trade mark, notwithstanding
the absence of deception
or confusion. The applicant has conceded
that the respondent’s registered TAKIS LOGO mark is well-known
for biltong in South
Africa. This means, without the need for more,
that the respondent has the requisite reputation to sustain its
s
10(17)
case that the impugned mark is similar to the TAKIS LOGO mark
which was registered some six years prior to it. As indicated,
the two marks are, in fact, very similar if not identical.
[25]
What remains for determination is whether the impugned mark would be
likely to take advantage
of, or be detrimental to, the distinctive
character or repute of the registered TAKIS LOGO mark. As held by
this Court in
National
Brands Limited v Cape Cookies CC and Another (Cape Cookies)
:
[28]
‘
Concrete
evidence of actual advantage or detriment is not required under
s
10(17).
Only a likelihood needs to be shown. It seems to me that a
well-founded basis for why it would be likely that an unfair
advantage
would be gained if registration takes place suffices. I
agree that, as opposed to bare assertions, facts supporting such an
inference
must be put up. In any event, at the time that opposition
proceedings are launched, concrete evidence may well not yet have
emerged.’
[26]
The applicant’s use of the impugned mark is likely to take
unfair advantage of, or be detrimental
to, the distinctive character
or the repute of its registered TAKIS LOGO marks. The respondent has
provided the following supportive
evidence in its founding affidavit:
‘
[T]he
the average consumer would be confused and deceived into believing
that the [applicant’s] product emanates from the
[respondent]
or is in some way associated with the [respondent]. The [applicant]
will thus unfairly benefit from the reputation
for quality and good
products that the [respondent] has worked so hard to achieve over
almost 40 years. The [applicant] will simply
get a free marketing
reputation at the expense of the [respondent]. It will enter the
marketplace with a substantial reputation
and consumer base already
in place, and it will generate revenue at the expense of the
[respondent]. This is so because the [applicant]
will be selling
snack foods that are identical to and similar to the [respondent’s]
products and it will in fact compete
with the [respondent’s
goods]. The [applicants] goods will thus divert sales from the
[respondent] and thus negatively impact
on [its] revenue and
profitability.’
The applicant responded
with a bare denial.
Does the respondent
have prior existing rights in class 30 goods?
[27]
Section 10(16)
of the
Trade Marks Act allows
for the expungement of a
mark which is the subject of an earlier application from the
trademark register, if the registration of
that mark is contrary to
existing rights of a person making the later application for
registration. The respondent had sought to
demonstrate that in
respect of its pending applications in respect of class 30 goods, it
had existing rights as of 6 June
2012.
[29]
[28]
However, as correctly pointed out by counsel for the applicant during
argument, the respondent
had, in so far as its reliance on
s 10(16)
of the
Trade Marks Act is
concerned, only pleaded existing rights in
respect of its class 29 goods and not its class 30 goods. The
argument that the applicant
thus advanced, is that the majority had
erred in concluding that the respondent had satisfied the
requirements of
s 10(16)
of the
Trade Marks Act. This
is not a basis
to grant the application for special leave to appeal. I take this
view because the provisions of
s 10
of the
Trade Marks Act are
self-standing grounds to either oppose the registration of a mark or
seek its expungement from the trademark register. If any one
of these
grounds is established, then the court must either refuse the
registration or expunge the mark from the register, whichever
is the
case.
[30]
[29]
The respondent had succeeded in satisfying the requirements of
ss
10(12)
,
10
(14) and
10
(17) of the
Trade Marks Act. Accordingly
, the
majority concluded, correctly so, that the applicant’s impugned
mark was an entry wrongly made in, and wrongly remaining
on, the
trademark register and it thus fell to be cancelled in terms of
ss 10(12)
,
10
(14) and
10
(17) of the
Trade Marks Act. For
these
reasons, I am of the view that the proposed appeal has no reasonable
prospects of success. More importantly, the applicant
has failed to
establish special circumstances. The application for special leave to
appeal must, therefore, be dismissed with costs.
[30]
In the result, I make the following order:
The application for the
reconsideration of the order of this Court granted on 8 March
2022 dismissing the applicant’s
application for special leave
to appeal is dismissed with costs.
_______________________
F
KATHREE-SETILOANE
ACTING
JUDGE OF APPEAL
Appearances
For the
appellant:
CE Puckrin SC and R Michau SC
Instructed by:
Hahn & Hahn Inc, Pretoria
Webbers Attorneys,
Bloemfontein
For the
respondent:
P Cirone
Instructed
by:
Kisch IP, Sandton
Phatshoane Henney Inc,
Bloemfontein
[1]
The
respondent relied on all these marks in its expungement application.
[2]
Section
24 of the Trade Marks Act provides:
‘
(1)
In the event of non-insertion in or omission from the register of
any entry, or of an entry wrongly made in or wrongly remaining
on
the register, or of any error or defect in any entry in the
register, any interested person may apply to the court or, at
the
option of the applicant and subject to the provisions of section 59,
in the prescribed manner, to the registrar, for the
desired relief,
and thereupon the court or the registrar, as the case may be, may
make such order for the making, removing or
varying the entry as it
or he may deem fit.
(2) The court or the
registrar, as the case may be, may in any proceedings under this
section decide any question that may be
necessary or expedient to
decide in connection with the rectification of the register.
(3) In the event of the
registrar being satisfied that any entry relating to the
registration, assignment or transmission of a
trade mark has been
secured
mala fide
or by misrepresentation or that any such
entry was wrongly made or wrongly remains on the register, he shall
also have
locus standi
to apply to the court under the
provisions of this section.’
[3]
British
Sugar PLC v James Robertson & Sons Ltd
[1997]
ETMR 118, [1996] EWHC 387 (Ch), [1996] RPC 281.
[4]
These
provisions are quoted later in the judgment.
[5]
PAF
v SCF
[2022] ZASCA 101
;
2022 (6) SA 162
(SCA) para 24.
[6]
Cook
v Morrison
[2019] ZASCA 8
;
2019 (5) SA 51
(SCA) para 8.
[7]
MEC
for Health, Eastern Cape v Mkhitha
and Another
[2016] ZASCA 176
paras16-17.
[8]
The
wording of s 10(12) is akin to a passing off.
[9]
Roodezandt
Ko-Operatiewe Wynmakery Ltd v Robertson Winery (Pty) Ltd and Another
2014 BIP 24 (SCA) para 4.
[10]
Plascon-Evans
Paints (Pty) Ltd v Van Riebeeck Paints (Pty) Ltd
[1984] ZASCA 51
;
1984 (3) SA 623
(A) at 640G-641E.
[11]
G
C Webster & N S Page
South
African Law of Trade Marks
3 ed (1986) at 6-27 paras 6-12.
[12]
Oude
Meester Groep Bpk & Another v SA Breweries Ltd
1973 (4) SA 145
(W) at 161C-E.
[13]
Pepsico
Inc v Atlantic Industries
[2017] ZASCA 109
para 20.
[14]
Ibid.
[15]
International
Power Marketing (Pty) Ltd v Searles Industries (Pty) Ltd
1983 (4) SA 163
(T) at 168H.
[16]
Adidas
AG and Another v Pepkor Retail Limited
[2013]
ZASCA 3
para 22.
[17]
Oude
Meester supra
at
161F-G;
Budweiser
Budvar National Corporation v Anheuser Busch Corporation
2002 BIP 126 (RTM) at 130.
[18]
Golden
Fried Chicken (Pty) Ltd v Vlachos and Another
[2022] ZASCA 150.
[19]
Supra
para 24.
[20]
Standard
Bank of South Africa Ltd v United Bank Ltd
1991 (4) SA 780
(T) at 782G-H and 796J-797A.
[21]
It
is not disputed that ‘fuego’ means ‘fire’ in
Portuguese – i.e. hot flavoured chips.
[22]
Other
examples disclosed by the applicant include, TAKIS ORIGINAL, TAKIS
SALSA BRAVE, TAKIS HUAKAMOLE, TAKIS PASTOR and TAKIS
FUEGO.
[23]
Century
City Apartments Property Services CC and Another v Century City
Property Owners’ Association (Century City)
2010 (3) SA 1
(SCA) para 12.
[24]
Laboratoire
Lachartre SA v Armour-Dial Incorporated
1976
(2) SA 744
(T) at 746H.
[25]
New
Media Publishing (Pty) Ltd v Eating Out Web Services CC
2005 (5) SA 388 (C).
[26]
Mettenheimer
and Another v Zonquasdrift Vineyards CC and Others
(
Mettenheimer
)
2014 (2) SA 204
(SCA) para 11.
[27]
British
Sugar
fn
3 supra which has been imported into our law. See
Mettenheimer
fn
26 para 11;
Pepsico
Inc
fn
13 para 19.
[28]
National
Brands Limited v Cape Cookies CC and Another
[2023]
ZASCA 93
;
[2023] 2 All SA 363
(SCA) para 38.
[29]
In
terms of
s 29(1)
of the
Trade Marks Act, the
registration date of a
trade mark is deemed to be the date when the application for
registration was lodged. The applicant lodged
its application to
register the impugned mark on 6 June 2012.
[30]
Cape
Cookies
fn
28 para 17.
sino noindex
make_database footer start
Similar Cases
LA Group (Pty) Ltd v Stable Brands (Pty) Ltd and Another (650/2020) [2022] ZASCA 161 (25 November 2022)
[2022] ZASCA 161Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa96% similar
LA Group (Pty) Ltd v Stable Brands (Pty) Ltd and Another (650/2020) [2022] ZASCA 20; [2022] 2 All SA 678 (SCA); 2022 (4) SA 448 (SCA); 2022 BIP 336 (SCA); [2022] HIPR 185 (SCA) (22 February 2022)
[2022] ZASCA 20Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa96% similar
Dart Industries Incorporated and Another v Botle Buhle Brands (Pty) Ltd and Another (636/2021) [2022] ZASCA 170; [2023] 1 All SA 299 (SCA); 2023 (4) SA 48 (SCA) (1 December 2022)
[2022] ZASCA 170Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa96% similar
Assmang (Pty) Ltd v Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service and Others (311/2024) [2025] ZASCA 121 (29 August 2025)
[2025] ZASCA 121Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa96% similar
Strategic Partners Group (Pty) Ltd and Others v The Liquidators of Ilima Group (Pty) Ltd (in liquidation) and Others (1291/2021) [2023] ZASCA 27; [2023] 2 All SA 658 (SCA) (24 March 2023)
[2023] ZASCA 27Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa96% similar