The committee ruled that a small Ukrainian pet food producer has unfairly imitated the widely-recognized brands of US-based Mars Incorporated.
The Anti-monopoly Committee has slapped fines against companies that have imitated the internationally recognized brands of a leading American pet food manufacturer.
The ruling, showcased at an April 24 press conference, was intended to demonstrate the zeal of Ukrainian regulators in protecting intellectual property rights of well-known international trademarks.
The committee ruled that a small Ukrainian pet food producer has unfairly imitated the widely-recognized brands of US-based Mars Incorporated, owner of the Whiskas cat food and Pedigree dog feed brands.
In the ruling, the committee found that the Ukrainian company, BONO-Ukraine, had used packaging that mimicked that of animal food sold under the Whiskas and Pedigree brands.
The committee fined BONO-Ukraine $17,000 and slapped a symbolic $350 fine on the company’s Czech-based pet food supplier, KSK BONO.
Both companies have also been obliged to do away with the alleged copycat brands.
BONO-Ukraine, a leading pet food supplier on the Ukrainian market, was founded by Ukrainian businessmen in partnership with the owners of KSK BONO.
Iva Keplerova, KSK BONO’s export executive, said the company is aware of the accusation, but refused to comment on the situation or provide any further information about her company and its connection to BONO-Ukraine.
KSK BONO and its Ukrainian partner were invited to the Anti-monopoly meeting on April 24, when the case was examined. Both ignored the meeting.
Committee officials accused BONO-Ukraine of utilizing the practices of “parasitic competition” by imitating the packages of well-known trademarks to gain unfair market positions.
Oleksiy Kostusyev, head of the Anti-monopoly Committee, said the decision proves Ukrainian regulators are dedicated to protecting the interests of leading multinationals, such as Mars.
He cited other rulings that defended the intellectual property rights and general interests of well-known companies, such as Italian vermouth producer Martini, American candy company Raffaello, Pepsi and Georgian mineral water producer Borjomi.
“Mars Incorporated has reported [to the Committee] that it spent nearly $2.5 million on an advertising and promotion campaign for the Whiskas and Pedigree brands from 2001-2004, and didn’t lessen its expenditures in the past two years,” said Tamara Nestulya, head of the unfair competition department of the the Anti-monopoly Committee.
“BONO-Ukraine didn’t spend anything to promote its products,” she added.
Nestulya said that even though BONO-Ukraine couldn’t significantly challenge the sale volumes of Whiskas or Pedigree, having reported only $160,000 in turnover for 2005, it is a “serious issue for brand image that should be legally protected.”
Mars’ representative lawyer Tamara Lukanina said Mars disclosed the unfair practice of its competitor in 2005, when its products appeared in supermarkets next to Whiskas and Pedigree products.
According to Lukanina, the case was complicated because the violator imitated package images using only details of the Whiskas and Pedigree package designs. She added that the competitor’s products sell for half the cost of the Whiskas and Pedigree products.
Mars Incorporated has been present on the Ukrainian market since 1991. The group posted $18 billion in worldwide turnover last year, but refused to reveal figures for its operations in Ukraine.
