The Sofala Provincial Administrative
Court denied the request by FERROX, Lda. to suspend the effects of the Industrial
Property Institute (IPI) ruling, which had denied the registration of the mixed
trademark "DELPOINT...FOR ALWAYS" for products in Class 11 (home
appliances).
The IPI justified the refusal based
on an opposition filed by UZER HOLDING, Lda., holder of the previous
registration of the "DePoint" trademark. The opposition alleged that
the applicant's trademark would cause confusion in the market due to the
phonetic and graphic similarity between the trademarks.
FERROX contested, arguing that the
suffix "Point" is in common and non-exclusive use, citing as examples
other trademarks registered in Mozambique with the same suffix, such as
Hotpoint and Westpoint. The company also alleged the risk of irreparable harm
if the trademark was not used, with losses estimated at USD 700,000 and a risk
of impact on more than 200 employees.
The Court, however, found that the
alleged losses were financially compensable and that FERROX had not
sufficiently demonstrated the irreparable harm or the number of employees affected.
According to case law, only damages that are difficult or impossible to repair
justify the suspension of an administrative act.
Therefore, due to failure to meet the
legal requirements, particularly paragraph a) of Article 132 of Law No. 7/2014
(LPAC), the suspension request was denied.
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