A Swiss court granted German liquor maker Mast-Jaegermeister brand protection for its logo displaying a stag with a cross between its antlers, saying the symbol was unlikely to offend Christians' religious feelings.
In the ruling published on Monday, the Federal Administrative Court overruled the Swiss patent office's refusal to protect the logo for various goods and services, such as cosmetics, mobile phones, entertainment and telecommunication services.
The decades-old brand featuring the deer with the cross was so familiar that "the intensive use had overwritten the religious character of the controversial symbol", the court ruled.
It concluded that average Christians' feeling would not be hurt by the logo. It was not known if any Christian groups had actually complained.
The Jaegermeister logo, in use since 1935, is based on the 7th century legend of Hubertus, the patron saint of hunters, who became a Christian missionary after encountering a magnificent white stag with a glowing cross between its antlers, the company says.
(Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
