The battle over the Stratos name to court

Who has the right to call a night club Stratos? The fronts have been steep for a long time. On Monday, the matter ends up in court.

Stratos is the name of a chocolate. The name has recently been pending in court, which will decide whether Freia’s “bubble chocolate” has become too similar to the original in both color and logo.

But on Monday, a new trial about the Stratos name starts in the Oslo District Court. This time it is about the right to use the name of a night club.

The story goes back to 1935 when the top of the Folketeaterbygningen on Youngstorget was named Stratos. A restaurant with the name kept it going until 1986.

But it wasn’t until the entrepreneurial duo Jama Awaleh and Kim Søyland in ByOslo took over in 2011 that Stratos became one of the city’s most popular party venues.

So, in 2021 the landlord thought it was enough party for the listed building and did not renew the lease.

And here begins the bitter dispute over the name.

The founders applied to the Norwegian Patent and Trademark Office to register the brand name and obtain exclusive rights to it – except for the chocolate product group.

– We wanted to protect what we had established, Jama Awaleh told Aftenposten.

Got to keep Justice

They won out at the Patent Office in autumn 2022 and were ready to bring the name to a new pub. They have done the same with Justisen, which after many years in Møllergata has now become super popular in new premises in Kristian Augusts gate.

But the farm owner at Youngstorget saw no reason to let the youth run away with the inheritance.

– If Stratos were to appear somewhere other than Youngstorget, it would be quite rude, Roar Thun, general manager of Youngstorget property, told Aftenposten.

They complained to the Patents Board and attached no less than 56 partly ancient documents to document the history.

The complaint was dismissed. But Thun & co. proceeded to the state Appeal Board for Industrial Rights (KFIR). The tribunal considered that it was documented that the Stratos name had been sufficiently incorporated and granted the complainant the right.

Going one more round

But the nightlife entrepreneurs are not letting go of the name without further ado. ByOslo believes they have the right to use the name and is now suing the state appeals body. On Monday, the appeal case starts in the Oslo district court

Jama Awaleh in the City of Oslo does not wish to comment on the matter in advance. Neither do the lawyers in Wiersholm.

Two days have been set aside for the case, where the Government Attorney represents the Appeal Board.

If you think that the right to names and trademarks is a curious part of the law, you need to think again.

– In fact, eleven judges in the District Court are specialized in the field of “intellectual property rights”, i.e. trademarks, designs and patents, states Knut Andreas Bostad in the Patent Board. They are the authority for the field.

When the verdict will be handed down is unknown. But as for the chocolate, it is expected around May 20.