Reliance’s new brand ‘Jio’ has gained vast
popularity in India due to its unconventional marketing strategy
and within a span of 2 years it has amassed a wide consumer base.
The trade mark ‘Jio’ has been filed for registration in
India as well as various countries outside India. Recently, the
trade mark ‘JIO’ was registered in the European Union
when the proprietor of the trade mark ‘Joi’, LKN
Communications Inc., filed invalidity proceedings against the
registration of the mark ‘Jio’.
The trade mark ‘JOI’ was registered in class 09
whereas the trade ark ‘JIO’ was registered in class 38,
LKN Communications argued that the marks were registered in cognate
classes. Furthermore, there existed a likelihood of confusion
between the marks ‘JOI’ and ‘JIO’.It was
argued on behalf of Jio that telephone service providers did not
sell any goods therefore there was no likelihood of confusion in
this regard or with respect to any phonetic or visual
similarity.
