GGRAsia – Macau court rejects another Sands’ Cotai trademark

Macau court rejects another Sands’ Cotai trademark

Jun 20, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Macau’s Court of Second Instance again rejected Las Vegas Sands Corp’s attempt to register the term “Cotai Strip”, this time via the phrase “Cotai Strip CotaiRewards Club”. In a judgement dated May 29 but published this week, the court says both the expressions ‘Cotai’ and ‘Cotai strip’ stand for a specific area of the city where gaming, hotel and entertainment activities are developed.

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands is the parent company of Sands China Ltd, owner and operator of the Venetian Macao and Sands Cotai Central on Cotai. Sands China is currently building the Parisian Macao, a US$2.7 billion casino resort scheduled to open in late 2015.

In the recent court decision, the judges said the expressions the company tried to trademark, including ‘Rewards Club’, are too generic and fail to distinguish Las Vegas Sands from other companies that could produce or sell the same goods.

The judgement stresses there are other operators in Cotai providing similar services. “If the registration of the trademark was to be allowed, it would make it difficult for consumers to identify the product or services being offered,” it said.

Macau’s Court of Second Instance has prevented Las Vegas Sands from registering several trademarks that use the words ‘Cotai Strip’.

The company has attempted to register trademarks for different services and products it offers, including “Cotai Strip CotaiExpo”, “Cotai Strip CotaiArena” and “Cotai Strip CotaiTravel”.

In late 2013, the court had prevented Las Vegas Sands from registering “The Heart of Cotai” as a trademark.

LVS’s Macau market rival Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd, operator of the City of Dreams resort at Cotai, has opposed several LVS applications to register in Macau trademarks involving the phrase “Cotai Strip”.

In the latest case, Las Vegas Sands appealed to the court after seeing its request rejected by the Macau Economic Service, but the court sided with the government department.