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Daily Express
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Express
Ferrari loses trademark battle against local drink brand
Published on: Monday, June 30, 2025 Published on: Mon, Jun 30, 2025 By: FMT Reporters Text Size: The Kuala Lumpur High Court found no reasonable likelihood that a person purchasing an energy drink would confuse it with Ferrari's luxury vehicle. PETALING JAYA: Italian luxury sports car manufacturer Ferrari, known for its Formula 1 success and prancing horse emblem, has lost a court battle over a trademark dispute with a local energy drink company concerning a twin-horse logo. The Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Ferrari's lawsuit against Sunrise-Mark Sdn Bhd, ruling that the company's 'Wee Power' logo was not similar to Ferrari's trademark to the point of causing confusion, and could proceed with registration. Justice Adlin Abdul Majid stated that Ferrari's claim of potential confusion was unfounded, reported Harian Metro. Ferrari had filed an originating summons against Sunrise-Mark, seeking to overturn the decision of the Registrar of Trademarks, who had rejected Ferrari's opposition and allowed the company's trademark application last year. Ferrari argued that Sunrise-Mark's trademark, which features two horses standing face-to-face with a bold letter 'W' between them and the words 'Wee Power' below, infringed upon their exclusive rights to the single-horse logo used on their cars, merchandise, and global branding. Ferrari also attempted to downplay the term 'Wee Power', claiming that the word 'Power' had been disclaimed in the trademark registration and that 'Wee' was too generic to be considered distinctive. However, in its decision dated May 30, the court disagreed with the plaintiff, noting that the only similarity between the trademarks was the use of horses. 'The plaintiff's mark is a device mark featuring a single prancing horse, while the defendant's mark contains two horses standing face-to-face. 'The defendant's mark is not solely focussed on the standing horses, as it includes a prominent 'W' between the horses' heads and the words 'Wee Power' beneath them. 'I accept the defendant's explanation that the word 'Wee' originates from the name of the company's founder, Wee Juan Chien, and does not refer to the common English definition of 'wee.' '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. Adlin also said there was no reasonable likelihood of confusion between the defendant's energy drink and the plaintiff's luxury vehicles as both parties operate in distinct, non-competing industries with separate consumer bases. 'The plaintiff and defendant operate in different industries – the plaintiff in luxury automotive, and the defendant in consumer goods. 'The two product types do not compete, and the customer bases of both parties are unlikely to overlap,' he said, adding that an average consumer would not perceive the defendant's mark as similar to Ferrari's. The court also ordered Ferrari to pay legal costs. Lawyers PC Kok and Ng Pau Chze represented Ferrari, while YY Ho and Amirah Najihah Ameruddin represented Sunrise-Mark. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
The Sun
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
Ferrari loses trademark case against local energy drink firm
PETALING JAYA: Italian high-performance car icon Ferrari SpA, renowned for its Formula One success and legendary prancing horse emblem, has lost a court battle over a trademark case against a local energy drink company concerning a twin horse logo. The Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Ferrari's legal action against Sunrise-Mark Sdn Bhd, ruling that the company's WEE POWER logo is not confusingly similar to Ferrari's famous trademark and can proceed with registration. According to New Straits Times, High Court judge Adlin Abdul Majid clarified that Ferrari's claims regarding potential confusion were unfounded. Ferrari as plaintiff filed an originating summons against Sunrise-Mark to set aside the Trademark Registrar's decision, which had rejected their objection and allowed the company's trademark application last year. Ferrari argued that Sunrise-Mark's trademark, which displays two standing horses facing each other with a bold letter W between them and the words WEE POWER below, infringed on their exclusive rights to the single horse logo used on their cars, merchandise and global branding. Ferrari also attempted to diminish the words WEE POWER by arguing that the term POWER was already disclaimed in the trademark registration, and the word WEE was too common to be considered unique. However, the court in its decision dated May 30 disagreed with the plaintiff on grounds that the only similarity between both marks was the horse. 'The plaintiff's mark is a device mark with a standing horse, while the defendant's (Sunrise-Mark) mark contains two standing horses facing each other. 'The defendant's mark is not solely focused on the standing horse as it contains a capital letter W between the heads of both horses and the words WEE POWER below the horses. 'I accept the defendant's explanation that the word WEE derives from the defendant's founder's name, Wee Juan Chien, and does not refer to the common definition of the word wee in English. 'I find it unlikely that the defendant intended to brand their energy drink with words meaning 'very small power' or 'very early power',' he was quoted as saying. Adlin said the court found no reasonable likelihood that someone purchasing an energy drink would confuse it with a luxury Ferrari vehicle. 'The plaintiff and defendant are involved in different industries, with the plaintiff in the luxury automotive industry while the defendant deals in consumable goods. 'Both types of products do not compete with each other, and the plaintiff's customers and defendant's customers are unlikely to overlap. 'I find it unlikely that an ordinary consumer would look at the defendant's mark and form the impression that it is similar to the plaintiff's mark,' he said. The court also ordered the car manufacturer to pay court costs. Lawyers PC Kok and Ng Pau Chze represented the plaintiff while YY Ho and Amirah Najihah Ameruddin represented the defendant.
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Automotive
- New Straits Times
Ferrari loses 'Prancing Horse' logo suit to local drink brand
KUALA LUMPUR: Italian supercar icon Ferrari SpA (Ferrari), renowned for its 'Prancing Horse' emblem, has lost a trademark courtroom battle to a local energy drink company over a pair of rearing horses. The High Court dismissed Ferrari's legal action against Sunrise-Mark Sdn Bhd, ruling that the latter's "Wee Power" logo was not confusingly similar to Ferrari's world-famous trademark and could proceed to registration. Judge Adlin Abdul Majid made it clear that Ferrari's claims of potential confusion did not hold water. Ferrari as plaintiff filed the originating summons against Sunrise-Mark to set aside the decision of the Registrar of Trademarks, of dismissing its opposition and allowing the latter's trademark application last year. Ferrari had argued that Sunrise-Mark's trademark, which features two rearing horses facing each other with a bold letter W between them and the words "Wee Power" below, infringed on its exclusive rights to the iconic single rearing horse used on its cars, merchandise, and global branding. Ferrari also tried to play down the words "Wee Power" by arguing that the term "Power" was disclaimed in the trademark registration, and that the word "Wee" was too generic to be considered unique. However, the court in its decision dated May 30 disagreed with the plaintiff on grounds that the only similarity between the marks is the horses. "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. "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'," she said. Adlin said the court found no reasonable likelihood that someone shopping for an energy drink would confuse it with Ferrari's luxury vehicles. "The plaintiff and the defendant are involved in different industries, with the plaintiff in the luxury automotive industry while the defendant traded in consumable goods. "Both types of products do not compete with each other, and the plaintiff's customers and the defendant's customers are unlikely to overlap. "I find it unlikely that the average consumer would see the defendant's mark and form the impression that it is similar to the plaintiff's mark," she added. The court also ordered the carmaker to pay costs.
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Automotive
- New Straits Times
Ferrari loses horse logo suit to local drink brand
KUALA LUMPUR: Italian supercar icon Ferrari SpA (Ferrari), renowned for its prancing horse emblem, has lost a trademark courtroom battle to a local energy drink company over a pair of rearing horses. The High Court dismissed Ferrari's legal action against Sunrise-Mark Sdn Bhd, ruling that the latter's "Wee Power" logo was not confusingly similar to Ferrari's world-famous mark and could proceed to registration. Judge Adlin Abdul Majid made it clear that Ferrari's claims of potential confusion did not hold water. Ferrari as plaintiff filed the originating summons against Sunrise-Mark to set aside the decision of the Registrar of Trademarks, of dismissing its opposition and allowing the latter's trademark application last year. Ferrari had argued that Sunrise-Mark's trademark, which features two rearing horses facing each other with a bold letter W between them and the words "Wee Power" below, infringed on its exclusive rights to the iconic single rearing horse used on its cars, merchandise, and global branding. Ferrari also tried to play down the words "Wee Power" by arguing that the term "Power" was disclaimed in the trademark registration, and that the word "Wee" was too generic to be considered unique. However, the court in its decision dated May 30 disagreed with the plaintiff on grounds that the only similarity between the marks is the horses. "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. "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'," she said. Adlin said the court found no reasonable likelihood that someone shopping for an energy drink would confuse it with Ferrari's luxury vehicles. "The plaintiff and the defendant are involved in different industries, with the plaintiff in the luxury automotive industry while the defendant traded in consumable goods. "Both types of products do not compete with each other, and the plaintiff's customers and the defendant's customers are unlikely to overlap. "I find it unlikely that the average consumer would see the defendant's mark and form the impression that it is similar to the plaintiff's mark," she added. The court also ordered the carmaker to pay costs.
