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Ladbrokes Bingo Successfully Defends Trademark Infringement Case Against Svenska Spel

October 13th, 2009

In a major victory, reputed bingo operators Ladbrokes Bingo successfully staved off a trademark infringement case filed against them by Swedish gaming operator, Svenska Spel (Swedish Games). Svenska Spel is a monopoly sponsored by the Swedish government which operates several gaming and bookmaking centers in the country.

Earlier Svenska Spel had filed a lawsuit against the company alleging that Ladbrokes bingo was guilty of trademark infringement with their latest advertisement campaign that declared “Swedish games with English Odds”. The company alleged that by doing so Ladbrokes Bingo had violated trademark laws; they asserted that only they had the right to use the words “Swedish” and “games” together in commercial parlance during marketing and advertisement activities.

In response to the Svenska Spel lawsuit, Ladbrokes had filed a counter-suit which claimed that it was the plaintiff that had violated the Marketing Act via their various marketing campaigns. Ladbrokes Bingo highlighted that Svenska Spel had described themselves as “world leaders in responsible gaming” with the “most effective age verification online”. While the Swedish Market Court has held that Ladbrokes was not guilty of any trademark infringement with respect to the charges levied against it by Svenska Spel, the latter now stands to pay a fine of up to SEK 75,000 if found guilty of the charges leveled against them in the Ladbrokes counter suit. The judgment specifically precludes Svenska Spel from using the statements “world leaders in responsible gaming” and “the most effective age verification online” in all subsequent advertising campaigns.

According to Chief Executive of Ladbrokes Bingo, Christopher Bell, “This case means that Swedish monopolies cannot extend their power to monopolizing language. We will continue to highlight the consumer benefits of a competitive market in betting and gaming in contrast to disproportionate state monopoly laws and actions that restrict competition and choice.”

Ladbrokes has been involved in a fair share of legal wrangles recently over its European operations. The online gaming company was in the news recently for having scored a victory against Danske Spil (Danish Games) over similar allegations of trademark infringement. Danish Games had recurred that only they held the right to use the words “Danish” and “games” together in marketing activities and that the company’s marketing campaign “Danish games with English odds” was in violation of that. The Maritime and Commercial Court in Copenhagen ruled in favor of Ladbrokes and even quashed the plaintiff’s demands for a monetary compensation. Both these judgments deem that no monopoly has the exclusive right to use specific words or language.

Ladbrokes Bingo Successfully Defends Trademark Infringement Case Against Svenska Spel

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