Facts
Helena Rubinstein SA Paris and Helena Rubinstein SA Spreitenbach sued Denner Vereinigte Filialunternehmen AG Zurich and Denner Supermarkt AG Zurich for injunction against the use of the trademark "EDEN CLUB" for cosmetics. The Commercial Court of Zurich dismissed the claim. The Federal Supreme Court overturned the judgment and remanded the case for re-evaluation to the lower instance.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court concluded that there is a risk of confusion between the trademarks "MEN'S CLUB" of the plaintiffs and "EDEN CLUB" of the defendants. The word elements "MEN'S CLUB" and "EDEN CLUB" are characteristic and decisive for the overall impression of the trademarks, so that they are to be compared with each other. The focus is on the memory of the average consumer, who does not pay special attention to trademark differences. Therefore, high requirements must be placed on the distinctiveness of the trademarks.
The Federal Supreme Court did not see sufficient differences in the meaning, sound or visual appearance of the trademarks to exclude a risk of confusion. The fact that the plaintiffs' trademarks also contain the company name "Helena Rubinstein" does not change this, as this is not clearly perceptible on all products and the word element "MEN'S CLUB" remains a…