Baumix and Henkel fight over slogan, package design

Baumix officials said the firm had registered its slogan “For professionals” and a bag design for several products at the Romanian State Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM) in 2004, but Henkel had used both the slogan and the design for its Ceresit brand. It claims this affected its sales and that it had notified Henkel of the issue, with no answer.
However, Henkel said it was using the slogan “Quality for professionals” all over Europe for its adhesives divisions, while the other divisions used the slogan “Quality from Henkel.” Moreover, the package design was developed by the company's marketing departments in Vienna and Dusseldorf, and has nothing to do with the Baumix packages. Ceresit products are present on all European markets under the slogan “Quality for Professionals,” read a Henkel statement.
Its representatives also say the current Baumix GM, Augustin Russu, was sales director of Henkel's adhesives division until 2003. In its defense, Henkel says the phrase “for professionals” appears on more than 46,000 websites.
Baumix was set up in 2004 and is fully locally-owned. Henkel Romania accounted for more than EUR 100 million in turnover last year.

Corina Saceanu