Pretoria - South African company Trio End Street has been interdicted from using a fake BMW logo on the alloy wheels that it sells, thus infringing on the trade mark of the German company.
BMW SA’s parent company BMW AG holds the trademark to the logo. It, however, emerged that Trio End Street, trading as Golden West Tyres & Wheels, was using the logo on its rims, which sold for R2500 each.
BMW AG turned to the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, where it obtained an order interdicting Golden West Tyres & Wheels from using the BMW logo.
The wheel and tyre company must also within 10 days hand over to the applicant all offending rims in its possession. Advertisements on its website reflecting the bogus BMW logo must also be removed.
The court further ordered that an inquiry be launched into the damages suffered by the German company due to the selling of the rims bearing its logo.
On February 10, an investigator employed by the applicant bought a set of wheels from the respondent. The wheels embodied the applicant’s registered design in the wheel and were sold with caps bearing the applicant’s trademark.
The applicant said it was the registered proprietor of the design.
The court was told that the respondent used the applicant’s trademark without authorisation. The logo which the respondent used was identical to that of the applicant.
According to the applicant, a representative of the respondent signed an undertaking two years ago that it would stop dealing in or selling unauthorised goods bearing BMW’s trade mark or design. But in February this year an undercover agent bought wheels from the respondent bearing the BMW sign.
The applicant said this conduct caused it harm, as it was losing sales which it was not able to quantify.
Trio End Street did not state its side of the story.
Subscribe to our