The German multinational that owns Nivea has won rights to trademark ‘Black & White’.

Nivea is the only personal care brand in New Zealand that can now use the term ‘Black & White’ to sell its deodorants and anti-perspirants, after winning a five-year-long legal stoush against its competitor.

Nivea owner Beiersdorf AG legally owns the trademark ‘Black & White’ beating out competitor Unilever, owner of Dove and Rexona, over the rights, a recent High Court judgment showed.

The German company first applied to trademark ‘Black & White’ in September 2014 but Unilever was quick to oppose it.

The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) allowed Unilever’s opposition on the basis that ‘Black & White’ was not a distinctive character, and the words describe the characteristic or purpose of a product.

James & Wells Solicitor Sebatien Aymeric commented on an article about the recent case in which Nivea won the rights to exclusively use the term ‘Black & White’ to sell  personal care products in New Zealand.

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