The case was brought by Spanish perfume and fashion group PUIG, whose brands include Carolina Herrera, Nina Ricci, Paco Rabanne, and Jean Paul Gaultier. The defendants, Saphir Group and a supermarket chain, sold and marketed products under the brands Saphir, Caravan and IAP, which PUIG claimed smelled like perfumes under its trademarks. Lists supplied to the retailers by Saphir linked the smell-alike perfumes to PUIG’s brands, and the retailers used display labels stating ‘if you like [named brand], try Caravan No xx’.

Unfair advantage

The Alicante Community Trademark Court upheld the claim, stating that the defendants took unfair advantage of the distinctive character and repute of PUIG’s trademarks, and in doing so, attempted to transfer the prestige, quality and good image of the plaintiffs’ trademarks to the defendants’ products. The court said the defendants had also carried out unlawful comparative advertising.