Prohibition for the defendant from using the name "Apostolic Community"

Facts

The New Apostolic Church of Switzerland (plaintiff), an association within the meaning of Art. 60 CC, was founded around 50 years ago and has been registered in the commercial register of Zurich since 27 April 1910. It is part of an internationally hierarchically organized New Apostolic Church. In 1954, a split occurred in Switzerland, leading to the creation by certain excluded members of the plaintiff of a new association called "Apostolic Community", registered in the commercial register of the canton of Aargau. The plaintiff then brought an action to prohibit the new association from using this name, on the grounds that it would be confusing with its own and would violate its personality rights. The cantonal instances dismissed the claim, considering that the rules on the protection of the trade name were not applicable and that the elements "apostolic" and "community" were part of common language and could not be monopolized by the plaintiff.

Considerations

The SFC considers that the plaintiff is well-founded in its action. Although the elements "apostolic" and "community" are general terms, their combination in the name of the defendant…