Houma AG Handaka v The Registrar of Trademarks and Cheng Hang International LTD
Houma AG Handaka v The Registrar of Trademarks and Cheng Hang International LTD
The Plaintiff, our client is a Malian citizen and the sole licensee of a product labelled ‘Achoura tea’. The ‘Achoura’ brand and unique packaging is familiar to ataya tea drinkers in Ghana and ataya tea drinkers in over 20 other countries. The Achoura trade dress has been registered with the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI) for more than a decade.
Our client attempted to register the mark ‘Achoura’ with the Registrar of Trademarks in Ghana. His application was refused because the mark was already registered in the name of the 2nd Defendant (Cheng Hang International LTD). Upon investigation, we discovered that the 2nd Defendant sold ataya tea under the brand ‘Kakam’. By registering the mark ‘Achoura’ the 2nd Defendant would prevent our client from using the trademark Achoura in Ghana despite the goodwill our client had already accumulated in the Ghanaian market.
To remedy this, we took action against the Registrar of Trademarks and the 2nd Defendant. We asked the court to order the Registrar to remove the 2nd Defendant’s registration, rescind the refusal to our client and follow the due process to register the Achoura mark in our client’s name among other reliefs.
In response to the suit, the 2nd Defendant applied to the Registrar to cancel and remove their registration for the mark Achoura from the Trademark Registry. The Registrar compiled and registered the mark in our client’s name.