Decision of Fiducia SA against the Swiss Association of Certified Public Accountants

Facts

Fiducia SA, registered in the commercial register of Geneva since 1924 and active in particular in fiduciary activities, has brought an action against the Swiss Association of Certified Public Accountants (VSB) which has been publishing a magazine entitled "Fiducia" since July 1951. Fiducia SA considers that the use of this title infringes on its rights to its trade name. The court of first instance dismissed the claim, but the Zurich Court of Appeal upheld the claim for a declaration of the infringement of the name, an injunction against the use of the term "Fiducia" in the title of the magazine and an order for the publication of the judgment at the association's expense. The association appealed against this decision.

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal considered that Fiducia SA had legitimately registered its trade name and that the association's use of this distinctive element for the title of its magazine constituted a usurpation of the name within the meaning of Art. 29 para. 2 CC. Although the term "Fiducia" is a Latin word meaning "trust" and is not an indispensable designation of a thing for the public, its use…