The Commercial Court No. 2 of Bilbao has recently declared null and void a trademark that reproduced the Bitcoin logo, in a decision of great significance for the Bitcoin community. This ruling came after the trademark owner sued Bit2Me for allegedly infringing the trademark in question.
Following Bit2Me’s judicial success, the ruling not only dismissed any claims that Bit2Me was committing infringement, but also declared the nullity of Spanish figurative trademark number 4,046,141, registered under class 35 for advertising services, business management, commercial administration, and office work. This decision sets a significant precedent in the field of cryptocurrencies and intellectual property, impacting both entrepreneurs and established companies in the sector.
In its defense, Bit2Me argued that both the origin of the word ‘Bitcoin’ and the logo representing it were far removed from the plaintiff’s claims, as they were initially created and made known in November 2010 on the forum bitcointalk.org, the same place where Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin whitepaper.
Thus, the judge concluded “that the creator of the logo registered by the plaintiff ceded it to the community for free and unrestricted use, without such use allowing a community member to appropriate the logo for their commercial purposes, as is the case here,” and that “the plaintiff has acted with abuse of the community’s trust, which is indeterminate by definition but constituted by the plurality of those who allow, with their generosity and knowledge, societal progress, taking advantage of the reputation gained by the logo’s creator(s).”
This judicial victory in favor of Bit2Me, extendable to the entire crypto ecosystem, was achieved thanks to Bit2Me’s legal defense, led by lawyer Javier Maestre, with the support of the company’s Compliance and Legal department and the law firm CLUB LEGAL. They not only responded to the lawsuit but also designed a strategy to counter-sue the plaintiff in order to nullify the trademark, considering that it had been granted in contravention of Spanish Trademark Law.
This ruling highlights the importance of understanding the limits of intellectual property in the realm of cryptocurrencies. Entrepreneurs should be aware that widely used and recognized terms and logos in the digital community may not be eligible for exclusive registration. Furthermore, the ruling underscores the need to act in good faith in trademark registrations to avoid costly litigation and eventual nullification of the registrations.
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