Friendly Settlement in Beer Name Dispute

After a trademark is registered and advertised in the trade marks journal, the opposition period begins for anyone who has an interest to oppose the applied mark. Sometimes, during the opposition proceedings, the parties are able to reach a settlement that puts an end to opposition. This was the case in a beer name dispute between a couple months old brewery company Mustan Virran Panimo Oy (MV Panimo) and one of the largest Finnish brewery companies, Olvi Oyj (Olvi). 

MV Panimo is a company located in the city of Savonlinna in the southeast of Finland. The company wanted to use a mark 'Olavi' for beers, because it wanted to recreate a piece of the city's history. A beer with the same name was brewed in Savonlinna in the beginning of the 20th century. According to MV Panimo, the beer name 'Olavi' has its origins in the medieval stone fortress Olavinlinna, located in Savonlinna. Furthermore, the name has its origins in St. Olaf, King of Norway in 1015-1028.*

In December 2015, MV Panimo applied to register a word mark 'Olavi' in class 32 for beers. The registration was granted in February 2016 and the registration was published in the Finnish Trademark Gazette in the end of the same month. Shortly after, a big Finnish brewery company Olvi filed a notice of opposition based on its earlier word mark registration 'Olvi' in classes 32 and 33, registered in 1995. In 2008, the word mark 'Olvi' was also accepted in the list of trademarks with a reputation, established by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office.

Comparison of the marks.

After the opposition, both parties were eager to comment the dispute in media. Olvi said that a one letter difference in the marks is not enough and therefore the marks are confusingly similar. MV Panimo, on the other hand, announced that it will be using a name 'St. Olaf' for its beers and postponed the plans of using 'Olavi' until the dispute is over.* MV Panimo also applied to register a word mark 'OLAF' in class 32 for beers in the beginning of May 2016.

The beginning of the dispute had a slight David and Goliath resonance. The marketing director of MV Panimo even gave a statement in which he said that they must think how long a small company like them can fight against Goliath.*

In the beginning of June 2016 the parties reached an agreement. According to this agreement, MV Panimo is going to continue using the name 'St. Olaf' for its beer, instead of the mark 'Olavi'. Olvi thanked MV Panimo in a press release for the understanding in this issue. Also MV Panimo gave a positive statement. The parties even mentioned that there could be collaboration possibilities in the future.*

Despite the outcome, this dispute was not all bad for MV Panimo. The dispute had quite a lot of media coverage in Finland and the young and small brewery company received publicity and supporters. Therefore, there is a reason to think that the launching of the St. Olaf beer should go pretty well.

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* SOURCE: Bhose, Cilla (2016, May 11). Olvi ja pienpanimo kiistelevät tuotemerkistä - "Yhden kirjaimen ero ei riitä". Kauppalehti. [online] Available at: http://www.kauppalehti.fi/uutiset/olvi-ja-pienpanimo-kiistelevat-tuotemerkista---yhden-kirjaimen-ero-ei-riita/MBddheFU [Accessed 8 Jun. 2016].

* SOURCE: Ibid.

* SOURCE: Saarinen, Juhani (2016, May 12). Olvi vastaan Olavi – panimot kiistelevät, ovatko nimet liian lähellä toisiaan. Helsingin Sanomat. [online] Available at: http://www.hs.fi/talous/a1463016742873 [Accessed 8 Jun. 2016].

* SOURCE: Olvi, (2016, June 6). Osapuolet Sovintoon. [online] Available at: http://www.olvi.fi/web/fi/uutiset/uutinen/view/199785 [Accessed 8 Jun. 2016].