Élite Taxi Barcelona Sues Tenerife Group Over Brand Use
Élite Taxi Barcelona is suing its Tenerife counterpart for trademark infringement, alleging unauthorized use of its brand and demanding significant compensation.
The taxi industry is facing a lot of trouble right now. Élite Tenerife, the main taxi association in Santa Cruz, is already planning new protests against the city council. Now, a new problem has come up from Barcelona.
Élite Taxi Barcelona, led by Tito Álvarez, says it will sue Élite Taxi Tenerife, headed by Miguel Ojeda. The reason? They claim Élite Tenerife is using their name without permission.
This legal battle started last May. Élite Taxi Barcelona, which owns the brand, told Élite Taxi Málaga and Élite Taxi Tenerife to immediately stop using their logo without permission. This was first reported by DIARIO DE AVISOS.
Tito Álvarez, president of Élite Taxi Barcelona, explained at the time that the groups were "seriously breaking trademark laws. This causes confusion, unfairly uses our good name, and directly harms our image."
A court then ordered the two groups to remove the brand from all their materials, both online and offline, within three days. However, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office has since refused to register the name for them.
Álvarez explained, "They're still using it and profiting from it personally. So, we have no choice but to go to court. We're demanding €86,400 in compensation from the leaders of Élite Tenerife and €144,000 from those in Málaga."
The president of the Catalan group added, "As the founders of the Élite Taxi movement, we cannot accept the bad practices of Miguel Ojeda, the president of Tenerife. It's a shame for a brand that stands for 'for and by the taxi industry,' not 'for and by his taxi.' We will take him to court to hold him and those who support him responsible for the damage he's causing to a registered trademark."
Miguel Ojeda, president of Élite Taxi Tenerife, hit back, saying, "We will keep using the Élite brand, just as we have since 2016, because we have the right to. I am a founding member and current vice-president of the Élite Taxi Federation of Spain (FETE). Until now, there's never been an issue with the logo. This whole situation is just a personal attack full of lies." He added, "We are a legally formed association, not a branch of another. So, we'll meet in court."