GENEVA, 25 February 2005 — A Swiss appeals court has lifted a two-year ban on the trademark “Bin Ladin,” which is registered to a half brother of Osama Bin Laden, authorities said yesterday.
The decision reverses a 2002 ruling by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, which prevented Yeslam Binladin from using the name as a protected trademark on his perfumes or beauty products.
Binladin, who spells his name differently from his half brother, said he had no immediate plans to use the name on any products.
Last fall, he avoided controversy by releasing a line of perfumes for men and women under the “Yeslam” trademark.
“I have no intention of exploiting the trademark Bin Ladin for commercial ends, but its registration will ensure that other people cannot use my name ill-advisedly,” he told the Geneva daily Tribune de Geneve.
Binladin originally gained trademark protection for his family name in August 2001, but Switzerland revoked the ruling a year later, saying it was offensive in light of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States, blamed on Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network.
The trademark authority approved Binladin’s application without objection before the Sept. 11 attacks and had insufficient grounds to repeal it afterward, said Kurt Wuethrich, director of the appeal commission.
The trademark authority argued that the Bin Ladin trademark could disturb public order.
Registration in Switzerland allows people to apply for trademark protection in 77 countries that have signed an international intellectual property treaty, including the United States.
Binladin was born in Saudi Arabia, one of 54 children of Mohammed Ben Oud Ben Laden and his 22 wives.
He has claimed he only met his younger half brother three or four times in his life, all before Osama left Saudi Arabia in 1981.
Binladin has lived in Switzerland since 1985 and became a Swiss citizen three years ago.
