Jägermeister trademarks judged to be well known. On 4 July 2023, the Supreme Court confirmed in its decision 4Ob55/23a that a herbal liqueur from a discount store, in which the colour combination, lettering and pictorial representation are conspicuously based on the well-known Jägermeister trademarks in an overall view, leads to a mental association and exploitation of reputation.
The defendant had no justifiable reasons for labelling its herbal liqueur in the chosen form: In particular, the colour combination, the fracture lettering on an orange banderole and the figurative representation (deer’s head) are, in an overall view, conspicuously based on the well-known Jägermeister trademarks and lead to a mental association as well as to an exploitation of reputation. In contrast, the defendant’s red and white (discount) trademark was not applied to the product in an eye-catching manner that precluded the exploitation of reputation. The own mark was therefore not suitable to eliminate the imposing mental link to the plaintiff’s marks.
The reference to the design elements of Jägermeister, such as the use of a deer’s head – not although, but precisely because it is distorted in a comic-like manner – was intended and suitable to appeal to young party people drinking Jägermeister. According to the Supreme Court, however, the audience interested in hunting would not feel addressed.
