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Wednesday, July 14, 1999
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Teva appeals over headache trademark
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By Alisa Odenheimer, Ha'aretz Correspondent
Teva has appealed to the Supreme Court in its trademark battle against Vitamed, after the Tel Aviv District Court refused to order rival Vitamed to stop marketing a pain reliever under the name Vi-Talgin. Teva claims that this name infringes on the trademark rights of Teva's similar Opthalgin product.The appeal notes that Teva has been manufacturing and marketing Opthalgin for decades and that this pain reliever is widely recognized and respected by consumers in Israel and abroad.
Last fall, Teva discovered that Vitamed is manufacturing, marketing and advertising a drug called Vi-Talgin with the same medicinal effects as Opthalgin. Vitamed marketed the same product under the name Deferon until August 1997. The name change, Teva charges, is a clear attempt to cash in on the reputation of Opthalgin.
District Court Judge Amnon Strasnov rejected this claim, saying there is not enough similarity between the two names to constitute a trademark infringement. The judge added that there is no reason for Teva to worry about consumers being misled or confused by the introduction of Vi-Talgin, since its Opthalgin is so firmly rooted and well-known.
Teva argues in its appeal that Judge Strasnov erred in his ruling. The operative implication of his statement is that the stronger and more famous the trademark, the less protection it can expect. This is contrary to common sense and to legal precedent in Israel and abroad, the appeal contends.
Teva argues that the extensive efforts it invested in advertising and establishing Opthalgin's reputation make it incumbent upon the courts to carefully protect its trademark rights and prevent companies like Vitamed from trying to exploit Opthalgin's reputation for its own product
© copyright 1999 Ha'aretz. All Rights Reserved
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