And finally… insufficient horsepower

And finally... insufficient horsepower

Ferrari has lost a David and Goliath trademark battle with a small energy drinks company which it accused of infringing on its iconic prancing horse logo.

The Italian luxury sports car maker took action in Malaysia against local drinks company Sunrise-Mark Sdn Bhd, which uses two prancing horses in the logo of its flagship drink, Wee Power.

Ferrari’s lawyers argued that the horses were too similar to the Ferrari logo, while also downplaying the inclusion of the word “Wee” as too generic to be distinctive, Free Malaysia Today reports.

However, the Kuala Lumpur High Court disagreed, finding that the similarity between the logos did not extend beyond the shared use of horses and was unlikely to confuse customers in different markets and industries.

The use of the word “Wee” also “originates from the name of the company’s founder, Wee Juan Chien, and does not refer to the common English definition of ‘wee’”, the court noted.

“I find it unlikely that the defendant intended to brand its energy drink with a term that means ‘very little power’ or ‘early power,’” the judge said.

Ferrari was ordered to pay legal costs.

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