The Complainant is KSB SE & Co. KGaA is a leading supplier of pumps, valves and related systems for building services, industry and water transport, waste-water treatment and power plant processes. Founded in Frankenthal, Germany, in 1871, the sign KSB is the acronym of the founders’ surnames: Johannes Klein, Friedrich Schanzlin and Jakob Becker.
Today, the company has a presence on all continents with its own sales and marketing organizations, manufacturing facilities and service operations. With sales revenue running over 2 billion euros in 2019, the KSB Group is one of the leading suppliers of pumps, valves and related service worldwide. Nowadays KSB employs more than 15,000 people with 190 service centers and around 3,500 service specialists. Its main manufacturing facilities are located in Germany and France, Europe is the main market. The second-largest market is the Region Asia / Pacific, followed by the Region Americas and the Region Middle East / Africa. Outside Europe, KSB’s biggest production sites are in Brazil, China, India and the USA.
The Complainant has become one of the most important supplier of technically advanced pumps, valves and services in China where, since 1994, he has set up seven company branches, employed about 900 professional staff and established more than thirty service centres.
The Complainant is the owner of the trademark KSB, with several international and national trademark registrations worldwide, including the following:
• INT. TM n° 452821, Cl. 35, 37, 42 designating also China;
• INT. TM n° 662585, Cl. 06, 07, 09, 11, 37, 41, 42 designating also China;
• INT. TM n° 809284, Cl. 06, 07, 09, 11, 37, 41, 42;
• INT. TM n° 407021, Cl. 06, 07, 11, 17 designating also China;
• INT. TM n° 1466266, Cl. 37, 38, 41, 42 designating also China;
• INT. TM n° 1463039, Cl. 37, 38, 41, 42 designating also China; and
• INT. TM n° 679050, Cl. 06, 07, 09, 11, 37, 41, 42 designating also China.
In order to protect and promote its trademark KSB on the Internet, Complainant registered various domain names consisting of or comprising the word “KSB” under several different TLDs, including, inter alia, <ksb.com>, <ksb.cn> and <ksb.com.cn>.
The official website https://www.ksb.com/ generates a significant number of visits by Internet users. The Complainant is also active on the main Social Media, like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn.
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