Italian supercar giant Ferrari has lost a trademark lawsuit in Malaysia against a homegrown energy drink company, Sunrise-Mark Sdn Bhd, over the use of a horse-themed logo.
Ferrari, globally known for its iconic ‘Prancing Horse’ emblem, claimed that Sunrise-Mark’s “Wee Power” logo which displays two rearing horses facing each other, a bold letter ‘W’ between them, and the words “Wee Power” underneath, was too similar to its own branding. The carmaker argued that the resemblance could confuse consumers and dilute its internationally recognised image.
But the Malaysian High Court disagreed.
In a ruling delivered by Judge Adlin Abdul Majid, the court dismissed Ferrari’s claim, stating that the only notable similarity between the two logos was the presence of horses, which alone wasn’t enough to constitute infringement.
In her judgment, she elaborated:
“The plaintiff’s mark is a device mark with one rearing horse while the defendant’s (Sunrise-Mark) mark contains two rearing horses facing each other.
“The defendant’s mark does not focus only on the rearing horses as it contains a large letter ‘W’ between the heads of the two horses and the words ‘Wee Power’ below the horses.”
Ferrari also attempted to undermine the significance of the words “Wee Power” by claiming that “Wee” was too generic, and “Power” had already been disclaimed in the trademark registration, implying that the verbal component of the branding offered little distinction.
Again, the court wasn’t persuaded.
“I accept the defendant’s explanation that the word ‘Wee’ is derived from the name of the defendant’s founder, Wee Juan Chien, and does not refer to the ordinary definition of the word ‘wee’ in the English language.
“I find it unlikely that the defendant had intended for its energy drinks to be branded with words that mean ‘very small power’ or ‘very early power’,” Judge Adlin said, adding a touch of wit to the ruling.
Beyond visual differences, the judge emphasized the vast gulf between the two businesses, dismissing any possibility of consumer confusion:
“The plaintiff and the defendant are involved in different industries… and the plaintiff’s customers and the defendant’s customers are unlikely to overlap.”
In short, no reasonable consumer was likely to think a canned energy drink had any connection to a luxury Italian automobile.
With that, the court ruled in favor of Sunrise-Mark, allowing the “Wee Power” trademark to proceed and ordering Ferrari to pay legal costs.
The case marks a rare defeat for one of the world’s most powerful luxury brands in a trademark battle, especially one fought against a much smaller Malaysian company producing mass-market consumables.
David vs. Goliath? Maybe.
In this round, the energy drink came out with more horsepower.
Source: here
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