According to a report from Blabbermouth.net, Occult Swedish Heavy Metal band Ghost, led by Tobias Forge, has lost their case in Swedish court has lost their case against Ghost Drinks Ltd. The spirits maker makes a Gin using the group’s name, and Forge and his representatives claimed the vodka could conceivably have caused marketplace confusion. Ghost Drinks famously trolled the band on social media after the suit. The vodka company, which launched in June 2015, countered that Forge had known about their product since 2016. On December 22, the Swedish Patent And Market Court, which deals with intellectual property infringement and validity cases, issued a judgment saying that the term “ghost” is a generic word and is, therefore, free for Ghost Drinks to use.
The vodka brand, which was apparently launched in June 2015, took to its Facebook page to share a manipulated photo of Ghost at the 2016 Grammy Awards, where the band won the “Best Metal Performance” category, with frontman Tobias Forge holding a Ghost vodka bottle instead of a Grammy. The vodka makers captioned the picture with the following message which includes a major dig at the band: “Recently we were rather bemused to receive legal correspondence on behalf of the Swedish band Ghost and their lead singer, Tobias Fitta Forge, informing us of action they wish to take against us for…..um….making vodka. As if 2020 wasn’t strange enough already. We will keep everyone up to date with developments on this matter as they happen because, if nothing else, we could all do with a good laugh at the moment.
According to the Patent And Market Court, there are major visual differences between the characteristics. SDP’s brand has a strong figurative design where one can, with some difficulty, read the word “ghost.” The defendants’ trademarks in the form of the word “ghost” have a completely ordinary font that differs significantly from SDP’s figurative mark. According to the court, an average consumer would notice these differences in brand similarity even without examining the trademarks in detail.
Taking into account the obvious visual differences between the trademarks, the court found that, taken as a whole, there is no similarity between the trademarks as it pertains to trademark law.
In an overall assessment, the Patent And Market Court found that there is no brand similarity between the parties’ trademarks and that there is no risk that circulation in the market in which the parties market their products cannot keep apart the characteristics. There is also no risk that the public will get the impression that the goods come from the same company or from companies with financial ties. The use therefore does not infringe SDP’s trademarks and the claims for fines and damages cannot be upheld on that ground alone.
Since SDP’s action has been dismissed, the company is not entitled to compensation for its costs.
Ghost Vodka’s bottles feature a ghostly mask artwork on them, but other than the name have little in common with the band, which has also won several court cases defending their name.
“We hope everyone is keeping safe at the current time. Our distillery will shortly begin producing our next batch of delicious vodka and we hope you can all enjoy one of our Ghost cocktails again once this madness has passed. Cheers!
“(p.s. don’t worry Tobias Fitta, the next batch won’t be releasing any rock albums either)”