Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP, led by Reinhart Lange, has won a victory in the German Federal Supreme Court for the Swiss firm Lindt & Sprüngli AG in the "Lindt GOLDHASE" (Golden rabbit) trademark dispute. Lindt had filed suit against Frankish chocolate manufacturer Hans Riegelein & Sohn GmbH & Co. KG for marketing a chocolate rabbit similar to the "Lindt GOLDHASE".

Contrary to the view of the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court found there was a risk of substantial confusion between the two products and referred the matter to the Court of Appeals. The judges ruled that also the shape and color of the registered Lindt trademark makes it highly distinctive and that this should therefore be taken into account when assessing the similarity of the trademarks.

The District Court and the Appeals Court had first dismissed Lindt's suit on the basis that there was a sufficiently large difference between the determining elements of the mark – the printed words "Lindt GOLDHASE" and "RIEGELEIN CONFISERIE" (confectionery) and the red ribbon collar and bell and the printed brownish/reddish ribbon collar.

Reinhart Lange, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw's managing partner in Germany, said of the Supreme Court ruling: "The Supreme Court ruling is a clear admission regarding the three-dimensional trademark and will again make this form of trademark more important. As a result, the 'Gold Ingot' decision has become much less significant."

About Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw:

With over 1,400 lawyers located in six European and seven U.S. offices, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP is among the leading international business law firms and was one of the first transatlantic law firms on the local market. Our clients include 65 of the Fortune 100, numerous DAX and leading medium-sized companies as well as international financial service providers. About 100 lawyers in the German offices in Frankfurt am Main, Cologne and Berlin advise our German and international clients as to a wide-range of complex legal issues.