Luxury Italian carmaker Ferrari has suffered a legal setback in Malaysia after the High Court ruled against its trademark infringement claim involving a local energy drink company’s logo that also features rearing horses.
The dispute centred on Ferrari’s claim that the “Wee Power” logo used by Sunrise-Mark Sdn Bhd bore too close a resemblance to its iconic single rearing horse emblem, famously associated with the marque’s global brand identity. However, the High Court dismissed Ferrari’s attempt to block Sunrise-Mark’s trademark registration, finding no substantial similarity between the two logos.
Presiding Judge Adlin Abdul Majid concluded that the opposition filed by Ferrari was unfounded and that Sunrise-Mark’s trademark could proceed to registration. In her decision dated 30 May, the judge stated that Ferrari’s arguments about potential confusion among consumers lacked merit.
Ferrari had sought to overturn the Registrar of Trademarks’ previous decision allowing Sunrise-Mark’s application, arguing that the energy drink’s logo infringed upon its exclusive rights to the prancing horse symbol. The Italian automaker maintained that despite the presence of the words “Wee Power” and the design differences, the rearing horses used by Sunrise-Mark could still mislead consumers.
Sunrise-Mark’s logo features two rearing horses facing each other with a prominent letter “W” placed between them, and the words “Wee Power” positioned below. Ferrari insisted the word “Power” had been disclaimed in the registration and that “Wee” was too generic to distinguish the brand effectively.
The court, however, accepted Sunrise-Mark’s explanation that “Wee” referred to the company founder, Wee Juan Chien, and not to the English word meaning small. Judge Adlin dismissed the idea that Sunrise-Mark would intentionally brand its energy drinks with a phrase implying “very small power.”
She noted that the visual differences between the two logos were significant, particularly in the number of horses used, their positioning, and the additional textual and graphical elements present in the energy drink’s branding. She also emphasised that the two businesses operate in completely separate industries—luxury automotive and consumer beverages—and therefore serve distinctly different customer bases.
The judge concluded that it was highly unlikely for an ordinary consumer purchasing an energy drink to associate the “Wee Power” brand with Ferrari’s high-performance vehicles. As a result, the court found no reasonable likelihood of confusion between the two trademarks.
Ferrari was ordered to bear the costs of the proceedings. The automaker was represented by lawyers PC Kok and Ng Pau Chze, while the defence team for Sunrise-Mark included YY Ho and Amirah Najihah Ameruddin.
The ruling marks a rare defeat for the globally renowned car manufacturer in the realm of intellectual property enforcement, particularly in a case where a local brand has prevailed despite the perceived might of an international icon.
