The Vodafone name is used by two construction companies, Vodafone GSM and Vodafone Grup, while Orange is used by companies such as Orange Dent, Orange Pla-Net, Orange SRL and Orange Optic.
Orange registered its name with the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM) in 2001, while Vodafone was registered in 2005. Vodafone Romania is the name of former Mobi Fon mobile phone company, operator of Connex GSM network.
The fact that so many companies make use of the names of famous brands can be explained by legislative anomalies.
OSIM representative Valeriu Geambaju said that if a trademark is registered in the construction category, it will only be protected in that area. General protection applies only if the trademark is registered for all 45 OSIM categories.
