{"id":75708,"date":"2025-11-28T08:49:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T08:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/curell.com\/?p=75708"},"modified":"2025-11-28T08:54:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T08:54:30","slug":"the-spanish-supreme-court-acknowledges-the-reputation-of-the-donut-trademarks-in-spain-and-considers-parasitic-uses-of-the-sign-to-be-unfair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/curell.com\/en\/the-spanish-supreme-court-acknowledges-the-reputation-of-the-donut-trademarks-in-spain-and-considers-parasitic-uses-of-the-sign-to-be-unfair\/","title":{"rendered":"The Spanish Supreme Court acknowledges the reputation of the \u201cDONUT\u201d trademarks in Spain and considers parasitic uses of the sign to be unfair."},"content":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court has put an end to a long-standing dispute \u2014initiated in 2017\u2014 by ruling that the unauthorised and descriptive use of \u201cDONUT\u201d for commercial purposes infringes Grupo Bimbo\u2019s trademark rights over its renowned \u201cDONUT\u201d\/\u201cDONUTS\u201d<\/strong> marks.<\/p>\n

According to the judgment, the unauthorised use of the term \u201cDONUT\u201d, even when used descriptively, constitutes trademark infringement if such use is not fair.<\/p>\n

In its claim, Grupo Bimbo argued that Atlanta Restauraci\u00f3n Tem\u00e1tica SL used the signs \u201cRedondoughts\u201d \u2014as a trademark\u2014 and \u201cDONUT\u201d on bakery products, thereby harming the distinctiveness and reputation of its marks, in addition to engaging in unfair competition.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court found that the defendant\u2019s use was not \u201cfair\u201d, even if descriptive, as it could lead to undue advantage and undermine the distinctiveness and reputation of the \u201cDONUT\u201d marks. It highlighted risks such as dilution, loss of prestige and parasitism<\/strong>, whereby a third party benefits from the brand\u2019s appeal without contributing its own value.<\/p>\n

The judgment also notes that the defendant used \u201cDONUT\u201d in capital letters, matching Bimbo\u2019s registered mark, instead of \u201cd\u00f3nut\u201d in lowercase with an accent, as it appears in the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE).<\/p>\n

Although \u201cd\u00f3nut\u201d is listed in the RAE as a generic pastry term, the Supreme Court clarifies that its inclusion does not diminish the distinctiveness of the trademark<\/strong>. Therefore, its dictionary presence does not entail a loss of legal protection.<\/p>\n

The Court ruled that Atlanta Restauraci\u00f3n Tem\u00e1tica infringed Grupo Bimbo\u2019s trademark rights and ordered the company to cease all use of the sign \u201cDONUT\u201d in the commercial bakery sector in Spain.<\/p>\n

From an intellectual property perspective, the ruling reinforces a key principle: the reputational value of a trademark may justify enhanced protection<\/strong>. The Court confirms that the owner of a renowned mark may restrict certain descriptive uses by third parties when such practices amount to parasitic or unfair behaviour.<\/p>\n

For Grupo Bimbo, the ruling represents a \u201chistoric legal victory\u201d, recognising the extraordinary reputation of its brands and granting them the highest level of legal protection.<\/p>\n

Author<\/strong>: Merc\u00e8 Hern\u00e1ndez G\u00e1zquez<\/a><\/p>\n

You can read the full ruling\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court has put an end to a long-standing dispute \u2014initiated in 2017\u2014 by ruling that the unauthorised and descriptive use of \u201cDONUT\u201d for commercial purposes infringes Grupo Bimbo\u2019s trademark rights over its renowned \u201cDONUT\u201d\/\u201cDONUTS\u201d marks. According to the judgment, the unauthorised use of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":75706,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,45,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-featured-news","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Spanish Supreme Court acknowledges the reputation of the \u201cDONUT\u201d trademarks in Spain and considers parasitic uses of the sign to be unfair. | Curell Su\u00f1ol<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/curell.com\/ca\/?p=75710\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Spanish Supreme Court acknowledges the reputation of the \u201cDONUT\u201d trademarks in Spain and considers parasitic uses of the sign to be unfair. | Curell Su\u00f1ol\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Supreme Court has put an end to a long-standing dispute \u2014initiated in 2017\u2014 by ruling that the unauthorised and descriptive use of \u201cDONUT\u201d for commercial purposes infringes Grupo Bimbo\u2019s trademark rights over its renowned \u201cDONUT\u201d\/\u201cDONUTS\u201d marks. 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