Facts
Fertrans AG, founded in 1972, and Ferosped AG, founded in 1990, both have their legal and actual business headquarters in Buchs. Both companies are active in the freight forwarding business and target the same customer base, thus competing with each other.
The plaintiff Fertrans AG filed a lawsuit against the defendant Ferosped AG at the Commercial Court of the Canton of St. Gallen. The Commercial Court ordered the defendant to remove the component "Ferosped" from its company name, as the younger company was not sufficiently distinct from the older one, and even a proposed relocation of the registered office within the municipality of Buchs would not eliminate the risk of confusion.
The defendant filed a federal appeal, requesting the annulment of the Commercial Court's judgment and the dismissal of the lawsuit, or alternatively, the ordering of a relocation of the registered office within the municipality of Buchs. The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the contested judgment.
Considerations
According to the considerations of the Federal Supreme Court, the company name of a corporation must be clearly distinct from any company already registered in Switzerland, otherwise the owner of the older company can sue for the discontinuation of the use of the younger company's name due to the risk of confusion.
Due to the particular proximity of the two competing companies, which are both active in the freight forwarding business and target the same customer base, strict requirements must be placed on the distinctiveness of the company names. The main components "FER"…