Escobar Inc. applied to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to register the word mark “Pablo Escobar” as a European Union trade mark. The application covered a broad range of goods and services to be designated with the name of the controversial figure, which would likely result in profiting from the name of the brother. Interestingly, the available information indicates that the company is involved in, among other things, cryptocurrencies and plans to launch its own smartphone.
Pablo Escobar himself is widely known as a drug lord and the founder of the Medellín Cartel. His name is strongly associated with drug trafficking and narco-terrorism, and these were the reasons that did not favor the submitted application.
The EUIPO refused to register the trademark “Pablo Escobar”, arguing that it is contrary to public order and morality. Furthermore, the mark may be associated by consumers, especially in Spain, with drug trafficking and narco-terrorism. Moreover, the brutal and terrorist activities of the “king of cocaine” are widely known, which clearly influenced the decision.
Pablo Escobar’s brother and his company did not give up and appealed the unfavorable ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union, where they also failed to achieve the desired outcome.
The Court ruled that EUIPO was right to base its decision on the perception of the average consumer, who is guided by the universal values of the European Union, namely freedom, solidarity, equality, human dignity, the principles of democracy, and the right to life. According to EUIPO, Spaniards associate the name Pablo Escobar more with drug trafficking and terrorism, as well as the numerous and brutal crimes resulting from them, than with his occasional good deeds for the benefit of poor people in his native Colombia. Therefore, the disputed trademark would be contrary to the fundamental moral norms and common values that are primarily upheld by Spaniards.
Regarding the presumption of innocence, which the company mentioned, the court ruled that this fundamental principle was not violated, as Pablo Escobar, although not definitively convicted, is primarily associated with organized crime in Spain.
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