bhc Wins Trademark Infringement Prohibition Lawsuit Against BBQ

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Chicken franchise bhc has won a trademark dispute lawsuit against BBQ.

The 62nd Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Lee Young-kwang) dismissed all claims made by BBQ in the trademark infringement injunction lawsuit filed by BBQ on the 13th, which alleged that bhc's "Black Olive Chicken" infringed BBQ's trademark rights and constituted unfair competition.

Previously, BBQ filed a trademark infringement injunction lawsuit claiming that bhc's Black Olive Chicken infringed the trademark rights of its product, Golden Olive Chicken. bhc argued that olive and chicken are familiar ingredients, and "Olive Chicken" is commonly used to refer to chicken dishes made with olives or olive oil, thus it should be regarded as a non-distinctive term that cannot be exclusively owned by any individual.

A bhc representative stated, "This ruling confirms that BBQ's claims were unreasonable and groundless, and bhc will continue to firmly respond to any unfounded claims from competitors."

Meanwhile, in the second trial of the 7.1 billion KRW damages lawsuit filed by BBQ against bhc and Chairman Park Hyun-jong on the same day, the Seoul High Court overturned the first trial's ruling and partially ruled in favor of BBQ. The 18th Civil Division of the Seoul High Court (Chief Judge Jung Joon-young) ruled partially in favor of the plaintiffs in the second trial of the damages lawsuit filed by Genesis BBQ Chairman Yoon Hong-geun and other shareholders against bhc and others.

Previously, Chairman Yoon and BBQ shareholders filed a 7.1 billion KRW damages lawsuit, alleging that Chairman Park, who was the global representative of BBQ at the time of bhc's sale, was involved in inflating the number of stores.