/ Michael Kors wins again an appeal and manages to cancel the WK brand

Learn more about in Economía y Negocios, El Mercurio.

In a ruling that recognizes the fame and notoriety of the prestigious brand Michael Kors (MK) in Chile, the Industrial Property Court invalidated three trademark registrations featuring the letters WK. According to this court, these marks infringed upon the brand of the well-known American designer, as they evidently intended to import counterfeit products with a very similar mark.

The ruling acknowledges that the WK and MK marks are sufficiently similar to cause confusion among consumers. It explains that the way the conflicting sign is arranged, in which the letter M is replaced by the consonant W and additional figurative elements are added, is insufficient to distinguish one from the other. Moreover, by inverting the letter W, the initials WK correspond to the initials MK in reverse, which facilitates the consumer’s association with the MK brand.

This is not the first time that Michael Kors has won a dispute of this nature in our country. In 2014, when the brand established itself in Chile, our team of Alessandri attorneys achieved a favorable judgment in the largest trademark piracy case to date in Chile.