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Article | Crossfit: The Strength of Intellectual Property in Brazil
In an increasingly globalized society, the development of company branding is sought with the purpose of strengthening the company’s reputation in the market. In this context, the exclusive right to use, granted by trademark registration, becomes essential, especially in the sports field. And the latest victories of the Crossfit brand in the judicial sphere reinforce the importance of trademark registration even more in Brazil.
With the registration for multiple classes since 2019, the American company has been claiming the IP rights in Brazil by filing lawsuits against gyms that expose unauthorized use. In addition to the required training course for the owner or professional, the company requires payment of a predefined fee to license the use of the trademark. In this regard, in case of infringement, the offender may be sentenced to pay compensation in view of the rights set forth by Brazilian Industrial Property Law No. 9.279/96.
In this scenario, the use of the trademark on facades, advertising, and clothing has caught the company’s attention in Brazil. With registrations in other countries, the company has been monitoring the Brazilian market to also prevent the consumer from inducing confusion or even error when seeking the high-quality standard of such physical training. Thus, variations of the original expression are also not allowed, such as “CROSSFT”, “CFT”, “CF” and “CFIT”, as exposed in an injunction issued in September 2022 by the 3rd Business Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro (TJ-RJ). Furthermore, another decision, in December 2020, disclosed that the 1st Chamber of Business Law of the Court of Justice of São Paulo (TJ-SP) decided to refuse the argument of a gym that misused the trademark, alleging trademark degeneration.
Therefore, the importance of trademark registration for products and services should be highlighted, in order to maintain the integrity of the brand, the company’s reputation in the market, and proper association to related product and/or services with due quality. The relevance can be clearly observed in the case of such a physical training method globally recognized and ensured by Crossfit, LLC. Another topic that deserves to be emphasized refers to the validity of trademark registration, namely, 10 years. In this regard, there is the opportunity guaranteed by the IPL of unlimited extension every 10 years, for companies interested in renewing and maintaining the exclusivity of use of their trademark in the Brazilian market.
Author: Julia Sandes, Patent Specialist
For additional information, feel free to contact us at international@simoes-ip.com
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