News

The famous cabaret trio Jiskefet was a regular face on Dutch television for many years and still enjoys great fame. Jiskefet was not amused when they heard that publisher Noblesse wanted to publish a ‘Jiskefet encyclopedia’. According to Jiskefet, this infringes its Benelux trademark JISKEFET, which is registered for ‘books’ among other things.

Initially, the judge agreed with Jiskefet. Although the judge found the name JISKEFET printed large on the cover of the book is not use of Jiskefet’s trademark for books, it is not clear to the buyer that the book is not from Jiskefet itself. The statement “guaranteed unauthorized” in small on the back cover was not enough, and so a sticker had to be put on the front cover.

Noblesse disagreed and appealed. The appellate court, and eventually the Supreme Court, ruled that the use of a trademark in a book title is indeed not trademark infringement (because it is not use of the trademark for books). Noblesse should be able to say on the book that it is about Jiskefet. That Jiskefet does not find the book funny and it fears that a humourless book will tarnish its reputation does not matter. Humor is subjective and, according to the judge, it does not damage the reputation of Jiskefet and its brand. So the book can just be sold, without a sticker on it! This is no joke for Jiskefet….