Czech Real Estate Firm Files Trademark Infringement Suit Against Government

Czech real estate firm Czech Point 101 has filed a lawsuit against the Czech government for trademark infringement over the use of the name Czech Point, which the Interior Ministry is using to denote a national network of over 6,600 offices that issue various government documents, like verified signatures, land registry statements, company excerpts and criminal records.

Nathan Brown, owner of Czech Point 101, which has been providing real estate and property management services in the Czech Republic since 2003, explained that they registered the trademark with the Czech IPO in 2006 to cover the real estate and property management services they provide, while the government registered its mark in year 2007.

The Ministry argues that their use of this name cannot cause confusion, considering that the government provides different services from the ones provided by the real estate agency.

But Nathan Brown disagrees. “Multiple people stop at our office and we get several phone calls per month from people asking for land registry statements and criminal records from the government. It’s very clear. There is obvious evidence of confusion,” he said.

Czech Point 101 opposed the government’s attempt to register the Czech Point trademark at the EU level with the Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (OHIM) in 2008. OHIM accepted the real estate agency’s opposition and refused to register the Czech government’s trademark. The government’s appeal was rejected, and OHIM ordered the Czech government to pay the real estate agency’s legal fees for the appeal. According to the news portal Czech Position, this money is yet to be paid by the government to the real estate agency.

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Source: Czech Position news portal; The Prague Post