Remchingen/Karlsruhe, January 25, 2009
The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe has ruled that persolog GmbH must transfer the rights to the trademarks DISC® and DISC-Training® to Inscape Publishing, Inc. The subject of the legal dispute was solely these two trademarks. Models, products and seminar contents of persolog GmbH remain unaffected by this. No direct consequences for persolog trainers can be derived from the judgment.
A legal proceeding brought by Inscape Publishing, Inc. against persolog GmbH was concluded on January 21, 2010, in the final instance by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) with a fundamental judgment. “The proceedings exclusively concerned the rights to the trademarks DISC® and DISC-Training®,” reports Friedbert Gay, managing director of persolog GmbH. “The persolog models, products, and seminars were never part of the proceedings.”
Ownership History and Court Decision
Mr. Knoblauch registered the trademarks DISC® and DISC-Training® in the trademark register in 1992 and transferred ownership to DISC Training GmbH in 2000. Since 2004, persolog GmbH has been the exclusive owner registered in the trademark register. This was confirmed in all instances.
The BGH has now decided that the rights to the trademarks must nevertheless be transferred to Inscape Publishing, Inc. “We are very curious about the exact reasoning of the judgment,” reveals Friedbert Gay. “The fact that the BGH took on this highly complicated case shows that the matter could only be decided at the highest legal level.”
Claim Trademark Rights
Inscape Publishing, Inc. has a claim to the transfer of the rights to the two trademarks. Their legal predecessor, Carlson Learning Company, had already used the DiSC logo on an English-language product in 1984. In the USA, the sole use of a trademark determines ownership, not registration in a trademark register as in Germany. According to the BGH, there is a risk of confusion. It grants priority to the U.S. trademark over the German trademark. Therefore, Inscape Publishing, Inc. can now demand the surrender of the trademarks. In this case, persolog GmbH will of course transfer the rights.
No direct consequences for persolog® trainers
“The transfer of the rights to the trademarks has no consequences for the content or quality of our products and seminar offerings,” explains Friedbert Gay the consequences of the judgment. “Since 2004, we have been direct licensees of the father of the personality model with the behavioral dimensions D, I, S, and C, Prof. John G. Geier, or his successors. Therefore, only with persolog® Personality Factor Model do you receive the scientifically most up-to-date version of his work.”
For trainers trained in the persolog® Academy, the judgment has no direct consequences. However, persolog GmbH recommends that all trainers use the current persolog® trademarks in their written communication in the future. Image files for this purpose are provided by persolog GmbH in the trainer login.
