Best Buy Co., the Minneapolis-based electronics retailer, hasn’t always fought to defend its name. In 1989, sued by Best Buy Warehouse, the company convinced a U.S. district court that “Best Buy” was generic and could not be trademarked. But three years ago, Best Buy secured U.S. trademark protection for its Best Buy logo—and now it’s battling for that trademark in Europe against Barcelona-based Worldwide Sales Corporation España SL (WSC).
WSC sells electronics to megastores in Spain, Italy, and Portugal under its English-language “Best Buy Computer Products” trademark, registered in Spain and the European Union more than a decade ago. Because trademarks are territorial, the cross-Atlantic coexistence never caused any problems—until May 2008, when Best Buy expanded into Europe through a $2.15 billion joint venture with Britain’s The Carphone Warehouse Group PLC. WSC has lodged opposition to Best Buy’s efforts to register several logos at the E.U.’s Trade Marks and Designs department.
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