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IP COURT CONFIRM THAT DAKS "HOUSE CHECK" TRADEMARK HAS DISTINCTIVENESS
DAKS is a European brand with a long history. DAKS puts the check pattern (DAKS "House Check") which symbolizes its brand culture on its various products, and applied to register it as a trademark under the Taiwan Trademark Act. However, for a long time after DAKS' "House Check" trademark was granted, there had not been any precedent whereby the court confirms such a trademark (i.e., DAKS "House Check") composed of check pattern can be deemed as distinctive enough to make customers identify it as an indicator of DAKS' products, and whether DAKS can claim its right in such trademark against infringers.
The IP Court confirmed in its August 2009 judgment that DAKS "HOUSE CHECK" is distinctive enough to make customers identify it as an indicator of DAKS' products because of DAKS' long-term use, and that using the check design of DAKS "HOUSE CHECK" on products which do not come from DAKS will confuse consumers about the source of the products. As the IP Court explained in the judgment, even though the infringer put its own brand name on the products in question, since the check pattern used by the infringer was similar to DAKS' trademark in terms of composition, appearance, and the overall impression that it made, consumers would be misled into thinking that there is licensing relationship between DAKS and the infringer. Furthermore, it is common for an infringer to put its own label or brand name on the counterfeits, so such act should be deemed an objective factor contributing to "the likelihood of causing confusion on consumers' part." As the judgment confirmed that DAKS "House Check" can serve to distinguish DAKS' goods from those of others, it should help protect trademark owners' right in the future.