Johnson & Johnson
(USA) Click
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In an action to which Johnson & Johnson (USA) was a
plaintiff, the court accepted the plaintiff argument that their trademark is well-known and have international notoriety and
thus should enjoy full protection under Paris Convention as well as Sudanese laws.
Reckitt Benckiser
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Reckitt Benckiser won both their criminal and civil
actions in order to stop the continuous infringements against their well-known trademark “Dettol”. This judgment enabled them
to enjoy the remedies under both criminal (fine and imprisonment) and civil orders (permanent injunctions).
 Le Meridien Click
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In the case of Societe des hotels Meridien v. the owners of the business name
"Meridien Khartoum Hotels", the Supreme Court of Sudan, laid the following rules:
- Well-known trademarks are protected by Sudanese courts irrespective of absence of
direct provision in Trademarks Act 1969.
- A registered business name may infringe a registered trademark.
- Well -known and prior registered
trademark superseded a registered business name.
The facts of the case are as follows:
On 1975 the French company "Societe des Hotels Meridien" entered into management agreement with a Sudanese Company, to carry
on the business of Hotels services in Khartoum under the famous brand owned by the plaintiffs "Meridien". The management
agreement end in 1996.
By the end of the Management Agreement the French party showed their disinterest to continue the business with their
licensees and refused to renew the Agreement. Correspondence between the parties fixed date for removing the trademark
"Meridien" from the fronts of the Hotel and thus cease using the trademark in the Hotel.
The Sudanese party showed consent to the French requests but in fact continued to use the trademark irrespective of his
continuous promises to stop using the trademark.
AmericanaClick
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This case involves a very unique and novel matter before Sudanese courts. The case dealt with
the unfair competition. The Kuwaiti Food Company was seeking protection for its well-known trademark "Americana" which was
registered by a Sudanese company. In this case, the defendants infringed the logo of the plaintiffs as it is and use it for
biscuits they manufactured. A request was filed before the competent court to exercise its power under section 24 of the
Trademarks Act 1969 to cancel the registration of the defendant. The court of first instance issued a decision in favour of
the plaintiff. This decision was upheled by both Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
Supermi Click
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In this case, the Registrar of Trademarks accepted the trademark Supermi of PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk. The owners of
Superme, Messrs. Leaders Investment Co., requested the court to refuse this acceptance. The Registrar acceptance was based on
the fact that no applicant shall have exclusive right over the common words "Super" or "Supreme". The court accepted this
argument and issued its decision to the favour of PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk.
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