EU Denies ‘Pablo Escobar’ Trademark Registration

‘Pablo Escobar’ trademark registration was denied by the European Union Court of Justice in a decision issued on Wednesday, April 17. The decision was officially based on the fact that the name Pablo Escobar is contrary to public order and morals due to its association with drug trafficking, narcoterrorism, and the crimes and suffering it caused.

The EU Court of Justice’s decision is rooted in the public’s perception and image of Pablo Escobar in Spain. Although the former head of the Medellin cartel was never convicted by the Spanish judiciary or any other member state of the European Union, the EU Court of Justice determined that the existing links between the name Pablo Escobar and criminal activities contradict the universal values of the European Union, including human dignity, freedom, and the right to life and physical integrity.

The ‘Pablo Escobar’ trademark case

The case dates back to September 2021, when Escobar Inc., a company managing intellectual property related to Pablo Escobar, submitted a request to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for the registration of the trademark ‘Pablo Escobar’ within the European Union. Following the refusal by the EUIPO, Escobar Inc. took its case to the EU Court of Justice, which has now delivered its verdict, backing the initial EUIPO decision.

Escobar Inc. was founded in 1984 by Roberto Escobar, the brother of the drug lord. Since his brother’s death, Roberto has been a fervent defender of his legacy, notably gaining fame for converting two properties of the late Colombian trafficker in Medellin into museums, both of which are now closed.

The company has already been involved in several legal disputes, including one against American rapper 2 Chainz for launching an ‘Escobar Restaurant and Tapas’ chain, against the payment platform Klarna, and mobile phone brands Samsung and Apple over the sale of ‘Pablo Escobar’s smartphones’. In 2016, Escobar Inc. also requested one billion dollars from the streaming platform Netflix for unauthorized use of content in its series ‘Narcos‘.