This past Wednesday, the General Court of the EU in Luxembourg maintained the rejection of the registration of the European trademark “Pablo Escobar” that had been determined by the EUIPO with respect to a wide variety of products and services.
Originally, the application was filed on September 30, 2021 as a word mark before the EUIPO. The Office rejected the registration application on the basis that this trademark was contrary to public order and good customs, since Pablo Escobar was allegedly an international drug lord and a narco-terrorist who founded and directed as the sole leader the Medellín cartel (Colombia), although he was never criminally convicted for all of this.
According to the General Court’s decision, the EUIPO correctly considered that the relevant public in this case (Spanish consumers) could associate the name of Pablo Escobar with drug trafficking and narco-terrorism, as well as with the crimes and suffering resulting from of them, rather than with their eventual good works in favor of the disadvantaged in Colombia, an argument used by the applicant (Escobar Inc.). This company also argued that other names such as “Bonnie and Clyde”, “Al Capone” or “Che Guevara” were already registered as EU trademarks and that “Pablo Escobar” had become a “mythical figure in mainstream popular culture.” at the moment”.
The Court concluded that Pablo Escobar’s fundamental right to the presumption of innocence is not violated by this denial decision, since he will be perceived in Spain as a symbol of organized crime responsible for numerous murders.
However, this ruling can be appealed before the Court of Justice of the EU.
It is striking to us that, in the first decision to reject this trademark in February 2023, the EUIPO mentioned a resolution by which it also rejected the trademark registration of a restaurant chain called “The Mafia sits at the table”, in 2018, on the basis that such a name could be perceived as immoral by consumers. However, that same brand is in force in Spain and has more than fifty stores open in our country currently providing service.
In conclusion, it appears that the EUIPO, in line with the General Court, applies stricter criteria than the SPTO when examining controversial names.
Raquel Toston Ruiz
