Fidelity Sues Singapore, Hong Kong Firms for Infringement
FIL Ltd., the holding firm of the Fidelity group of companies that manages $233 billion of assets, sued Singapore and Hong Kong companies for using the Fidelity name without its permission.
FIL accused Fidelity Trust & Wealth Pte in Singapore of using the name “Fidelity” to take unfair advantage of the distinctiveness of the mark and said in a lawsuit filed at the Singapore High Court that it creates confusion. A closed hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30.
In a separate lawsuit filed in Hong Kong in August, FIL is seeking a court order to stop Fidelity International Group Ltd. from claiming that it’s authorized or licensed by FIL
FIL, known as Fidelity Worldwide Investment, is partly owned by the billionaire Johnson family, which founded Boston’s Fidelity Investments.
“We always take action to protect our trademark rights,” said Tomoko Aikawa, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for FIL. “Fidelity Worldwide Investment takes any infringement of its intellectual property very seriously.”
The Singapore firm’s two shareholders are Agus Salim and Edwin Wong Mun Chieh, FIL said in court papers, citing Fidelity Trust’s company records filed with the city’s accounting regulator.
Calls to Salim’s and Wong’s homes as listed in Singapore’s public phone directory weren’t answered. Fidelity Trust hasn’t filed its defense and its lawyers removed themselves from the case earlier this month after they were paid with a dishonored, check, according to court papers. No contact details were publicly available in Hong Kong for Fidelity International Group.
Unspecified Damages
FIL asked for unspecified damages from both the Singapore and Hong Kong firms, accounts of their profits and to stop using Fidelity in their names, according to the complaints.
Fidelity Trust, incorporated in September 2010, had advertised itself as a part of Fidelity International Group, which provides financial services worldwide, according to the Singapore complaint.
FIL’s sales in Singapore under the Fidelity trademark fell 67 percent to $619 million for the year ended June 2012, according to court papers.
The Singapore case is FIL Ltd. v Fidelity Trust & Wealth Pte. S705/2012. Singapore High Court. The Hong Kong case is FIL Ltd v Fidelity International Group Ltd. HCA1519/2012. Hong Kong Court of First Instance.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Tan in Singapore at atan17@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joe Schneider at jschneider5@bloomberg.net
Fidelity Sues Singapore, Hong Kong Firms for Infringing Name
JB Reed/Bloomberg
A pedestrian passes the Fidelity headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.
A pedestrian passes the Fidelity headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. Photographer: JB Reed/Bloomberg
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