Spain’s Grupo El Prado Cervera has lost a five-year trademark battle over its CHUFI brand, with the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) Court of First Instance rejecting an appeal.


J. Debuschewitz had asked in 1998 for CHUFAFIT to be registered for processed and fresh nuts and the application was challenged by Spain’s Grupo El Prado Cervera, claiming there would be confusion with its mark CHUFI, which covers a wide range of food products.


Because the visual impact of the two marks was different, the European Union’s Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) threw out the complaint. El Prado unsuccessfully appealed to the office’s appeal board and then to the ECJ.