Japan Patent Office (JPO) decided to cancel the trademark registration no. 6030384 for word mark “CLUB MOET KYOTO” due to the existence of the trademark ‘’Moët & Chandon’’, a Japanese business entity which is domiciled in Kyoto applied for “CLUB MOET KYOTO’’ as a trademark for restaurant services in class 43.

The company MHCS alleged that the application caused likelihood of confusion with “Moët & Chandon” when used on restaurant service since the terms KYOTO and CLUB were devoid of distinctive character.

The JPO Opposition Board ruled in favour of MHCS and declared in its decision that both the trademark “Moët & Chandon” and its abbreviation “Moët” are reputed trademark. According to the decision findings, while an assessment of the likelihood of confusion is conducted, the overall perception of the signs shall be takin into account and the term subject to the opposition shall be compared both visually, aurally and conceptually. To this effect, the decision draws attention that the term ‘’Moet’’ in the application would not be perceived as a surname but the average consumer would establish a link with the Moet. Accordingly, champagne and restaurant service are deemed to have a close association. While this assessment is made, the Office also considered that MHCS had also opened restaurant in 2014.