Copycats becoming an OktoberPest

Oktoberfest is the famous yearly beer festival which takes place between September and October in Munich and attracts approximately six million people per year from all over the world.

In 2016, the Munich City administration applied to register the mark “OKTOBERFEST” against several classes of goods and services so to protect the brand from what they call “Oktoberfest profiteers”. It is the intention of the Munich City administration to prevent copycats from exploiting the sheer popularity of the Oktoberfest for their own gain without the City of Munich receiving any benefit. After over five years since the application was made at the European Intellectual Property Office (“EUIPO”), the EUIPO has now registered the mark.

A recent example of why Munich City’s administration wanted to crack down on copycats can be illustrated by the recent plans of the Dubai Oktoberfest which flowed from the cancellation of the official Oktoberfest due to COVID-19. Munich City administration brought proceedings against the organisers of Dubai Oktoberfest and it was held that the organisers were not to advertise itself as “Oktoberfest goes to Dubai” or use any images which are associated with the official Oktoberfest.

If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.