Facts
Banque Audi (Suisse) S.A., headquartered in Geneva, registered the marks "Audi" and "Banque Audi" in Switzerland on April 26, 1993. On July 5, 1994, Volkswagen Bank GmbH, headquartered in Braunschweig (Germany), and Audi AG, headquartered in Ingolstadt (Germany), each registered the marks "Audi" and "Audi Bank" in the same international class in Switzerland.
On June 27, 1995, Banque Audi (Suisse) S.A. filed an action against Volkswagen Bank GmbH before the Cour de justice of the canton of Geneva, seeking a declaration of nullity of the service marks registered by the defendant. The Cour de justice dismissed the claim on March 29, 1996.
Banque Audi (Suisse) S.A. appealed the decision to the Federal Tribunal, maintaining its conclusions for a declaration of nullity of the "Audi" and "Audi Bank" marks.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal considered that Banque Audi (Suisse) S.A.'s action to have the disputed marks declared null and cancelled concerns the validity and registration in Switzerland of intellectual property rights. Pursuant to Art. 109(3) PILA, this action should have been brought before the courts of the canton of Bern, where the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (formerly the Federal Office of Intellectual Property) is located, and not before the Geneva courts.
The Federal Tribunal rejected Banque Audi (Suisse) S.A.'s…