The US team which revived the Andersen brand to form Andersen Tax has won another legal battle against other pretenders to the name, after a court in India ruled against two international firms for illegally infringing its trademark rights
The High Court of Judicature in Bombay ruled in favour of Andersen Tax against International Business Associates (IBA) by imposing a permanent injunction restricting IBA from using the terms ‘Andersen’, ‘Arthur Andersen’ and confusingly similar trademarks to promote its professional services consultancy.
In addition, the court handed down a preliminary injunction against a French firm known as Arthur Andersen & Co. (formerly known as Quatre Juillet Maison Blanche), temporarily prohibiting it from using the trademarks ‘Andersen’ and ‘Arthur Andersen’ to promote consultancy services in India. IBA had aligned itself with the French firm as an affiliate member of its network in India.
This marks the second legal decision in less than six weeks against firms illegally using the Andersen name in affiliation with the French firm. In April, the US district court for the northern district of California entered a consent-injunction prohibiting US-affiliate MoHala Enterprises, doing business as Sundial Consulting, from using the terms ‘Andersen’ or ‘Arthur Andersen’ in the US.
In September 2014 the US tax consultancy Wealth & Tax Advisory Services (WTAS), which was set up in 2002 by CEO Mark Vorsatz and 22 former Arthur Andersen partners, rebranded as Andersen Tax and announced its intention to develop an international entity called Andersen global.
Subsequently French businessman Stéphane Laffont-Réveilhac announced the formation of an Arthur Andersen network with 26 offices on five continents and in 16 countries, and denied Andersen Tax had sole rights to the name.
This was disputed by Vorsatz, who said the French company was not affiliated and did not have any rights to the brand.
Responding to the latest legal challenge, Vorstaz, CEO and managing director at Andersen Tax said: ‘Andersen Tax will enforce its legal rights vigorously around the world to protect its ownership of the Andersen name.’
Andersen Tax, which says it owns multiple trademark filings incorporating the name ‘Andersen’ for tax and legal services in 95 countries, filed suit against IBA in April 2017. Unlike the brand from which it takes its name, the company does not do any audit work.
The original Arthur Andersen firm collapsed following the Enron accounting scandal in the early 2000s.
