Judgment has been reserved in the trademark tiff between Bio Oil manufacturer Union Swiss and cosmetics company Bio Lotion over the use of the term "bio".
Union Swiss this week took Bio Lotion to the Pretoria High Court in a bid to stop the latter from using the trademark.
Advocate Philip Ginsburg SC, for Union Swiss, has argued that Johannesburg-based cosmetics company Bio Lotion's use of the word "bio" created confusion among consumers and caused some to buy a product they would otherwise not buy.
Advocate Reinard Michau, for Bio Lotion, yesterday argued that there was a series of products that used the "descriptive term bio". These, he said, had not been challenged by Union Swiss.
He contended that the register of trademarks would not have registered Bio Lotion if it infringed on Bio Oil's trademark.
"It's for Union Swiss to prove they have exclusive rights to use the term bio. It's not for my client [Bio Lotion] to prove that."
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