ALMIRALL S.A. (“Petitioner”), registered owner of the trademark “AIRTAL” filed a petition to cancel the mark “ARTAL” under the name of AGLOBAL CARE, INC.  (“Respondent”).

The Petitioner argued that when two marks, belonging to different proprietors, are identical or nearly resemble each other such as to likely deceive or cause confusion, and the marks pertain to the same goods or services, the mark first filed would be regarded as the superior registration.

In its Decision, the Bureau of Legal Affairs (BLA) ruled in favor of the Petitioner and concluded that there is likelihood of confusion due to close resemblance between the marks, as the Respondent merely deleted the second letter “I” in Petitioner’s “AIRTAL” to come up with the mark “ARTAL.”

The BLA also recognized that “ARTAL” covers goods that are similar to “AIRTAL” specifically pharmaceutical preparations/drugs, as such, there is likelihood that the public will be mistaken into believing that Respondent’s mark is just a variation of Petitioner’s mark or that their goods come from the same source or manufacturer.

(ALMIRALL S.A. vs. AGLOBAL CARE, INC., Decision No. CD-2022/2246 dated 2 March 2022)

Jai Andrew E. Puno is an Associate of the Trademark Department of VeraLaw.