Pavlov & Co

One of the largest Cash & Carry chains in Europe – METRO CASH & CARRY has come to an agreement with the local advertising company MOTION ARTS, represented by Pavlov & Co., following a series of trademark disputes.

The matter began with a subsidiary of METRO CASH & CARRY filing an opposition against the registration of the trademark METROREKLAMA, applied for services in class 35. The action was based on a couple of earlier trademarks containing the element METRO, registered internationally (including Bulgaria), for numerous goods and services.

Rather than taking a passive approach and simply defending against the opposition, Pavlov & Co advised the client in starting its own action, filing requests for revocation based on non-use of the earlier trademarks for all goods and services covered by them. METRO presented numerous evidence, which, however, did little to prove genuine use of the earlier signs for most of the goods and services covered by them. The Bulgarian Patent Office partially dismissed the claims, revoking the registrations for some of the goods and services, while leaving the registrations for others. Both parties appealed the decision of the BPO before the Sofia Administrative Court. During this period, however, METRO approached the local company and proposed a coexistence agreement, rather than continuing the extensive legal battle. Efforts then switched to negotiating the best possible solution for both parties and after finalizing the provisions of the agreement, it was signed by the two parties. Then the parties negotiated with the BPO to withdraw its decision and the court cases were finally terminated. The opposition was, also withdrawn.