Facts
The decision concerns a dispute between Sunrise Communications AG and Yello Strom Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH regarding the nullity of registered trademarks. The plaintiff, Sunrise Communications AG, brought an action to establish the nullity of trademarks held by the defendant, Yello Strom Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, due to non-use and abusive filing of these trademarks. The cantonal court limited the plaintiff's interest in establishing the nullity to the same classes of products or services for which the plaintiff had registered a sign in the trademark register.
The parties involved are Sunrise Communications AG, the plaintiff, and Yello Strom Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, the defendant. The dispute was brought before the Federal Court after the cantonal court rendered a decision that limited the plaintiff's interest in establishing the nullity.
Considerations
The federal court examined the question of whether the plaintiff had an interest in establishing the nullity of the defendant's trademarks. According to Article 52 of the Trademark Act (TmPA), a person with a legitimate interest may request the court to establish that a right or a legal relationship exists or not.
The court considered that the plaintiff had an interest in establishing the nullity of the defendant's trademarks, as it had brought an action to establish the nullity of these trademarks due to non-use and abusive filing. The court also considered that the plaintiff did not need to prove a special interest to request the nullity of the trademarks, as the general interest in the free creation of signs was sufficient.
The court also examined the question of whether the nullity of the defendant's trademarks should be limited to the…