Renfe requests the protection of the AVE brand against generic high-speed services

2023-07-11 00:00:00

Renfe requests the protection of the AVE brand against generic high-speed services

(10/07/2023)

To implement these protection measures, have the collaboration of the Association for the Defense of the Brand and the Forum of Renowned Spanish Brands. Renfe has requested both the design and development of initiatives in defense of the AVE brand, legally registered and protected in all its terms and uses. In addition, it is the only one that has 100 percent national capital among those that compete in the Spanish market and has been an Honorary Ambassador of the Spain Brand since 2013. It is a name registered by Renfe at the Spanish Office of Patents and Trademarks since 1990 and at the European Intellectual Property Office since 1996.

The request that the operator has submitted to Andema and the Forum of Renowned Brands occurs after an incident, in which a competitor’s train suffered a breakdown that was finally resolved several hours later. During and after this event, Renfe detected that travelers and the media confused the French brand of Ouigo with that of the AVE, thinking that it is a generic name that defines all the high speed that circulates in Spain. The operator recalls that there are currently three companies with four different products that perform these services in the national market. The current options are those offered by Renfe, with its brands AVE, of superior category, and Avlo, of low price; the French public company SNCF, with its brand Ouigo; and Trenitalia, an Italian public company, and Globalva and Air Nostrum, which operates a train park under the trade name of Iryo.

quality mark

Due to the confusion in the names caused by the last incident, he considers that the need to deepen initiatives in defense of the AVE brand has become clear, one that represents the Spain Brand abroad and that in Spain, after more than 30 years in circulation, it cannot and should not be used as a generic term, but for what it is: a registered trademark, which identifies rail services provided by Renfe with a high level of quality and a commitment to excellence and specific punctuality, which they differentiate them from any other rail service that may be provided by any of the new rail operators that have recently entered the Spanish market, Renfe indicates.

For this reason, it has advanced that it also carries out informative work so that the media collaborate in the correct use of the brands owned by Renfe, and especially, the AVE brand.

The Association for the Defense of the Brand considers that this event is a dangerous consequence of the vulgarization of the brand, due to the fact that the notable recognition that it has among the public leads to the fact that it was used as a generic to designate equal services of brands and different companies. In addition, it considers that this fact causes reputational damage to this Renfe brand when there is a crisis with a competitor and diminishes the effort that a company makes to get its brand to reach the top.

From Andema it is added that they will carry out awareness campaigns for consumers, forums, work groups, press releases and renowned certificates that help protect brands from vulgarization. Renfe, as an Andema associated company, participates in all the association’s initiatives to defend and protect the AVE brand.

In turn, the Forum of Renowned Spanish Brands indicates that both Renfe and AVE are renowned brands and benchmarks for all Spanish citizens thanks to their long history and the quality of their services. In addition, they carry the image of Spain throughout the world, one of the reasons why AVE was recognized as Honorary Ambassador of the Spain Brand in 2013. In this sense,

Renowned brands are an essential part of the intangible heritage of our country and for this reason it is important that we value their strategic importance as competitive and differentiation assets. Renfe and AVE are part of that intangible heritage that we have to preserve”

collaboration

Along with the support that it has requested from these organizations, Renfe has requested the collaboration of the media to help differentiate the three companies and the four brands (4, two of them from Renfe) that compete in the Spanish high-speed market. .