Romanian bicycle manufacturer Atelierele Pegas, a startup that took over a brand developed during the communist regime in Romania, sees its trademark challenged by a German bicycle manufacturer that owns a brand with a similar name: Pegasus.

The German company reportedly objected to the trademark held by Atelierele Pegas and even challenged in court the trademark registered with the Romanian specialized trademark registry OSIM.

In turn, Atelierele Pegas - owned by Iulian Stanciu, a shareholder and CEO of Romania's biggest online retailer, eMAG - argues that there is no conflict between the two brands, and the Romanian brand is older (50 years versus 40) anyway.

Regarding the notoriety of the two brands on the local market, a research report on the spontaneous notoriety of bicycle brands in Romania, conducted in 2020 by one of the most prestigious market research companies in Romania, shows a result of 65.1% for the Pegas brand, versus 0.5% for the Pegasus brand.

The German company does not sell bicycles in Romania.

"Pegas has a history of almost 50 years on the Romanian bicycle market. It was built and evolved independently in Romania. The Pegas bicycle was manufactured by Tohani Mechanical Plant from 1972 until 2005. From 2011, Atelierele Pegas took over the brand (registered trademark) and started producing bicycles, which have been in the market for ten years. German Pegasus brand has a history of almost 40 years, on the German bicycle market, evolving independently on the German market and, later, in other countries," stated Andrei Militaru, CEO of Network One Distribution, quoted by daily Adevarul. Network One Distribution is a company owned by Iulian Stanciu that owns Atelierele Pegas.

(Photo: Bicicletele Pegas Facebook Page)

iulian@romania-insider.com