Montenegro Airlines is suing Air Montenegro even though both of them are state-owned companies of Montenegro. The reason is that Air Montenegro makes use of the eagle, a registered trademark of Montenegro Airlines, without permission. The legal saga has a political dimension.
Montenegro Airlines sues Air Montenegro
Montenegro Airlines, the non-operational flag carrier of Montenegro, is suing Air Montenegro, the current flag carrier, for copyright infringement of its signature logo, the eagle symbol on its tail.
Montenegro Airlines is suing to achieve two outcomes: firstly, for Air Montenegro to stop using its current logo with immediate effect, and, secondly, for Air Montenegro to compensate Montenegro Airlines for damages relating to copyright infringement. These damages, Pobjeda reports, are calculated as the financial gain that Air Montenegro has realized by using the logo without permission.
The court case will be interesting to follow for several reasons. Firstly, Air Montenegro is not actually using the logo at the moment: its aircraft have been operating scheduled and charter services in an all-white livery ever since the airline started flying in early June this year.
More importantly, Montenegro Airlines cannot actually make use of the logo for which it is suing Air Montenegro because it is not even flying. Montenegro Airlines has not been operational since it was shut down in December 2020.
Is it all politics?
Montenegro Airlines was the national airline of Montenegro for more than 26 years, between October 1994 and December 2020.
The court case, presented to the Commercial Court by the administrator of Montenegro Airlines, alleges that the 26-year old airline has a world-known brand that forms its intellectual property and that this has been used without its consent.
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Between 1990 and 2020, Montenegro was ruled by the Democratic Party of Socialists the entire time. In early December 2020, a new cabinet was formally elected by the country's parliament. This is the government that shut down Montenegro Airlines as a result of mounting losses and because there was no legal way for the government to continue funding the airline.
Thus, Montenegro Airlines still exists legally as an entity in administration, and it clearly does not intend to disappear.
What is the court case about?
The court case, presented to the Commercial Court by the administrator of Montenegro Airlines, alleges that the 26-year old airline has a world-known brand that forms its intellectual property and that this has been used without its consent.
In the court case, Montenegro Airlines also alleges that there is no way for Air Montenegro to register its corporate identity because this would be contrary to Montenegrin law, given that the eagle symbol is already copyright-protected.
Thus, Montenegro Airlines wants Air Montenegro to cease using the logo with immediate effect.
What do you think of the story that Montenegro Airlines is unhappy with Air Montenegro using a part of its logo, even though they are both state-owned? Let us know what you think of this story in the comments below.