Escobar, the name of one of the most famous and influential drug lords in history, cannot be registered as a trademark in the European Union – the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg has decided.
The CJEU thus upheld the decision of the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), which rejected a trademark application by Escobar Inc. in 2022. As a result, Escobar appealed against this refusal to the Court.
Escobar will not be trademarked
According to the Court, EUIPO correctly found that “Pablo Escobar's name (is associated) more with drug trafficking and narco-terrorism, as well as with the crimes and suffering resulting from them, than with his possible good deeds on behalf of the poor in Colombia.” “Such a trademark will therefore be perceived as contrary to values ​​and fundamental moral norms,” ​​the Court said.
Escobar Inc. – as reported by Reuters – it was founded in Puerto Rico by Pablo Escobar's brother, Roberto de Jesus Escobar Gaviria, who spent 12 years in prison for participating in his brother's criminal organization.
Gaviria announced in 2020 that his company would launch a smartphone called Escobar Fold 1. According to its website, the company currently sells a cryptocurrency called Escobar Cash.
The king of cocaine
Pablo Escobar, killed in 1993 during a police raid, called the “king of cocaine”, was considered in the 1980s to be one of the richest and most influential drug lords in the world.
Escobar made his fortune thanks to millions of dollars worth of shipments of cocaine, which his cartel directed mainly to the United States.
Thousands of people died in attacks and assassinations ordered by Escobar.
Main photo source: Eric VANDEVILLE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images