Virgin Receives Favorable Verdict: Virgin is Ordained to be a Well Known Trademark in Israel!

We are pleased to share with you a favorable decision given by the Israeli Registrar's Office in connection with a trademark opposition in which Adv. Shirley Gal of the Eitan-Mehulal Law Group represented the UK company Virgin Enterprise Limited ("VIRGIN"), the owner of the brand .

The Israel Registrar upheld VIRGIN's opposition against a trademark application for the mark “Virgin Candles”, and determined that "VIRGIN" is a Well-Known trademark in Israel.The grounds that lead to the decision:

The Registrar concluded that the trademark VIRGIN is considered famous in Israel due to VIRGIN's extensive worldwide activities, the duration and scope of which were illustrated in VIRGIN's evidence;
A survey conducted by the (opposed) Applicant himself revealed that about a quarter of the Israeli population is aware of the "VIRGIN" brand – and the awareness of such a percentage of the population is not something to be taken lightly. Furthermore, even those surveyed who did not recognize the name knew to associate it with VIRGIN's actual fields of activity;
Virgin’s Expert's opinion contained many publications in Israeli media regarding VIRGIN and its founder, publications that were directed to a wide audience in their content and their subjects and concerned VIRGIN's activity in Israel and worldwide.

The Trademark Registrar determined that candles and the cosmetic field are related fields and hence there is a real likelihood of confusion between “candles” under the applied for mark "VIRGIN CANDLES" and VIRGIN's Family of Marks.