Wendover's Monsta Pizza wins trademark case against Monster Energy

Chris Dominey founded Monsta Pizza with Christopher Lapham last year

A pizza firm has won a landmark ruling against an energy drinks manufacturer in a trademark row.

Monsta Pizza of Wendover in Buckinghamshire fought a claim brought by Monster Energy in the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

Monster Energy claimed the pizza firm could be mistaken for it, leaving consumers confused.

However, George W Salthouse, for the IPO, has concluded no misrepresentation would occur.

Chris Dominey, 38, who founded travelling pizzeria Monsta with Christopher Lapham last year, said: "I think it is a victory for common sense, all the way through it I thought 'this can't be right'.

"When we originally went to register the trademark we thought it was a mistake, something which had been picked up by a computer automatically.

"When they brought in a big scary law firm and we got a letter from the owner of Monster Energy in California we knew it was serious. It did get a bit hairy at times."

When Monster Energy brought the action it alleged the "Monsta element of the trademark is the dominant element and the word pizza is non-distinctive".

"The goods are sold to the same consumers in the same premises, made by the same manufacturers and the trade channels are similar," it claimed.