French fashion giant Lacoste won its trademark battle against Hong Kong clothes firm Crocodile Garments yesterday over use of the crocodile logo on the mainland.
The Court of First Instance ordered the local firm to withdraw all its trademark applications from the mainland.
La Chemise Lacoste SA claimed Crocodile Garments Ltd had breached an agreement when it registered on the mainland a crocodile emblem 'confusingly similar' to Lacoste's.
The two companies signed three agreements in 1980 granting Crocodile Garments exclusive rights to the logo for distribution of Lacoste goods in Hong Kong.
In exchange, according to Lacoste, Crocodile Garments agreed not to apply outside Hong Kong to register trademarks similar to Lacoste's logo.
The Lacoste logo is a crocodile in a curled posture with its head facing right, while Crocodile Garments' emblem faces left.
But Crocodile Garments, which registered its trademark crocodile in Hong Kong in 1910, denied it had given up rights to register outside Hong Kong.