Last 22 December 2017, the Bureau of Legal Affairs of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines dismissed Wendy’s International LLC’s opposition against Costa Limited’s trademark application for “FROSTINO” for “ice based drinks containing coffee, vanilla, and/or chocolate” in Class 30 and other beverages in Class 32.

Wendy’s International LLC anchored its opposition on its trademark registration for “FROSTY” which is registered for “frozen dairy desserts; as far as included in Class 30 and not in other classes”.

The Bureau of Legal Affairs held that the manifest similarity between the two marks is the beginning letters “F-R-O-S-T”. However, it held that it is noteworthy that both marks pertain to goods which are cold and/or iced food products. It found that a trademark which appropriates the prefix “FROST” and is used on this line of products is a weak mark.

The Bureau further discussed that the Trademark Registry shows many other proprietors that appropriate the word “FROST” pertaining to iced or cold food products such as “FROSTEE”, “MR. FROST”, and “FIGARO FROST”.

Lastly, finding no confusing similarity between FROSTY and FROSTINO, the Bureau did not find the need to determine whether FROSTY is well-known.