Cheetos devours Cheezo in trademark dispute

One of the biggest things about going on holiday is visiting the local supermarket. Oftentimes they have unfamiliar brands that you have never seen before.

Entirely different products are popular that aren’t even existent at home. Think of the vast selection of chilies in Mexico or the dozens of varieties of mushrooms in Japan. Well-known brands also tend to offer country-specific flavours.

In Spain, you will undoubtedly come across Cheetos in the supermarket. Originally an American snack, it is also popular in Spain, where various ‘Spanish’ flavours are available. When another party sought to register the name CHEEZO in the European Union for a wide range of food products, Cheetos’ owner PepsiCo took action, relying on the broader protection afforded to its well-known mark.

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) found that PepsiCo had convincingly demonstrated that CHEETOS enjoys a strong reputation in Spain for cereal-based snacks. In reaching that conclusion, the Office considered not only sales figures, but also availability at thousands of retail outlets, media coverage, brand surveys and marketing activities. CHEETOS was therefore not merely a well-known mark but a name that had secured a clear place in the minds o the Spanish public.

The EUIPO then compared CHEETOS and CHEEZO. The names begin in the same way, are roughly the same length and sound quite similar to Spanish consumers. Moreover, as all the goods concerned fall within the food sector, the EUIPO considered it highly likely that consumers would make a link between the two marks. CHEEZO could therefore benefit from the attraction and reputation that CHEETOS had built up over the years. The application for CHEEZO was consequently refused in its entirety.

A fine victory for PepsiCo–and a logical one. Particularly on supermarket shelves, where consumers do not always take the time to compare products carefully, a leading brand must be prepared to bite back.

Author: Arnaud Bos

Bio: Arnaud is trademark attorney and within Knijff responsible for the marketing & communication. Arnaud is specialist in the metaverse and music sectors and his client portfolio includes many upcoming and renowned bands. He keeps a close eye on the latest case law in the EU and will let you know when he sees remarkable applications.