Noma, the world-renowned Michelin star Danish restaurant, has been awarded compensation for the unlawful use of its name in a marketing campaign.

Homeenter AB, a music and video site, engaged Mikkelsen Media ApS, a Danish marketing company, to market a new online club dedicated to high-quality chocolate. As part of its campaign Mikkelsen made use of the word ‘NOMA’, which is a registered trademark owned by the restaurant. In proceedings before the Maritime and Commercial Court in Copenhagan, Noma claimed that by using ‘NOMA’ without its permission, Mikkelsen and Homeenter had violated its trademark rights.

The Court observed that Noma was extremely well-known and found that the unauthorised use of its name (and reputation) in a third party’s advertising campaign could harm its reputation. It further found that Mikkelsen and Homeenter had acted against good marketing practice. While the Court did not find that any loss had been suffered by Noma, it awarded compensation for the unlawful use of its name and ordered that Mikkelsen and Homeenter pay its costs.

Contributed by David Cullen