Two businessmen in Armenia caught in unfair competition for selling chocolates with brand LEE

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YEREVAN, September 18 /ARKA/. Armenia’s Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC), decided that the use of trademarks with the word “LEE” by individual entrepreneurs Mkrtich Mkrtchyan and Maki Muratyan was unfair competition with the confusion of consumers, and liability measures were applied against them, the regulator said in a statement.br/pp

The CPC has recorded that the LEE Chocolate candies, which were imported and sold in Armenia and known to the Armenian consumer since 2005-2006, have been produced at the main LEE plant operating in Aleppo, Syria, since the 1900s with the label “LEE Choc Chocolate, Since 1947”./pp

As part of the initiated proceedings, it was revealed that the said business entities sold chocolate candies with the “LEE” trademark in Armenia without permission from the main “LEE” plant confusing consumers./pp

At the same time, there are also Armenian-made sweets on the local market with the “LEEDeluxe” label, which began to be produced and sold in 2013-2014 by Lee Chocolate LLC, and later by Lee Deluxe LLC./pp

The regulator's press service reported that individual entrepreneur M. Muratyan suspended the import and sale of chocolate with the LEE trademark, and individual entrepreneur M. Mkrtchyan was ordered to stop any use of trademarks with the word LEE and recall these goods in the event of their sale by other business entities. -0-/p