The author of a web site that criticised the food group Danone,
along with the ISP that hosted it, have been taken to court on
trade mark and brand abuse charges. The site, jeboycottedanone.net,
hosted by the Voltaire network, displayed a Danone trade mark
protected product in what was described as a disparaging way.
Danone has asked the Tribunal De Grande Instance to freeze the
site, seize the domain name, and fine the web site’s owner. Danone
also wants the court to order publication of the judgment against
the web site in national newspapers in an attempt to repair the
alleged damage the site has done to the company’s reputation.
The web site owner, who used the site to protest over staff
redundancies made by Danone, has argued that there was no risk of
initial confusion with the Danone official site. Therefore, there
was no trade mark infringement. The ISP argues that it is protected
by the French constitutional right to freedom of expression, which
should take precedence over trade mark law.
A final ruling is expected on July 4th.
