Casadobe Props 60 (Pty) Ltd v Fratelli Martini Secondo Luigi SpA

Casadobe Props 60 (Pty) Ltd owns and operates the Canto Wines boutique wine estate in the Durbanville wine valley and uses the unregistered trade mark CANTO in relation to wines and sparkling wines. Fratelli Martini Secondo Luigi SpA is an Italian company and the registered proprietor of South African Trade Mark No 2012/08843 CANTI in class 33 for wines and sparkling wines. Casadobe applied to register the mark CANTO, and the Registrar did not cite Fratelli’s CANTI mark during examination. Fratelli successfully obtained an interdict in the Western Cape High Court restraining Casadobe from using CANTO on the basis that it infringed Fratelli’s registered CANTI mark under s 34(1)(a) of the Trade Marks Act 194 of 1993. Casadobe appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal, disputing that the marks were confusingly or deceptively similar.

The appeal was upheld with costs, including the costs of two counsel. The High Court’s order granting an interdict was set aside and replaced with an order dismissing Fratelli’s application with costs.

The judgment reaffirms established South African trade mark principles on the assessment of likelihood of confusion, particularly the importance of overall impression and the role of consumer discernment in relation to premium goods such as wine. It clarifies that even a single-letter difference may be decisive where it materially alters the visual, aural and conceptual impact of a mark.