Swiss Info reports that Switzerland's Federal Administrative Court has ruled against the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property's attempt to prevent the company Jägermeister from expanding the use of its logo (a stag with a glowing cross between it antlers) beyond liquor and clothing items. The Institute argued that the logo was offensive to the religious views of some consumers. According to Swiss Info:
The court ... said ...: although the story behind the logo indeed stems from an old Christian tale, today the average consumer associates it clearly with the Jägermeister liqueur rather than revelation....
For the Swiss federal judges, ... the “intensive” use of the image by Jägermeister had “weakened its religious character” over time, and nobody was likely to be offended.
The company is thus free to use it for all promotional activities and products in Switzerland including cosmetics, mobile phones, or telecommunications services.
[Thanks to Tom Rutledge for the lead.]
