Takis Biltong, one of SAs most revered brands, fought a nine-year battle all the way to the Supreme Court of Appeal to protect its trademark against infringement by Mexican-registered company Grupo Bimbo, which was found to be selling tortilla chips in SA under the name Takis Fuego.
That case was decided in favour of Takis Biltong in December 2023, the name and the logo design being deemed so similar as to cause confusion in the minds of consumers. The Pretoria High Court overturned an earlier ruling by the same court and ordered that the registration of the trademark Takis Fuego be cancelled.
Despite the court ruling in favour of Takis Biltong, Takis Fuego-branded products are still freely available across SA in violation of the court order.
ExasperationTaki Aristides, co-owner of the Takis Group, tells Moneyweb this effectively nullifies the decision of the court.
Takis is a family-owned business that we have built up over 40 years, and we had no choice but to take the matter to court to defend our brand.
