It's not often that we get an opportunity to report on trade
mark decisions in Mauritius. So it is with some pleasure that we
report on the Controller's recent decision in the matter of an
opposition to the trade mark Delinte.
The facts were that a Chinese company, Qingdao Sentury Tire Co
Ltd (Qingdao), applied to register the trade mark Delinte for
tyres. An Indonesian company, PT Industri Karet Deli (PT), filed an
opposition to the application. The opposition was based on prior
rights to the trade marks Deli Tire and Delium.
In the notice of opposition PT claimed that it is the owner of
the tyre trade marks Deli Tire and Delium. Both these trade marks
are registered in Mauritius in a logo form (both with the same
stylized letter 'D'), Deli Tire since 2011, and Delium
since 2013. PT claimed that it sells tyres under these trade marks
in many countries including Mauritius. It made the claim that both
trade marks are 'extremely well known' in the
context of tyres.
