For more than ten years now, Chilli Hills has been a symbol of spicy culture in Bulgaria. From the first jars we filled in our small kitchen to today, when we are an international brand – we have always believed in the power of the original idea.
Unfortunately, along the way, we also encountered the other side – abuse and attempts to use our name for someone else's profit. For many years, we preferred not to engage our fans with this negativity, but the time came when we had to defend our work and publicize the problem in order to help other brands avoid similar situations in time.
That's exactly why we are announcing the launch of our national campaign "Create, Don't Imitate!" - to inspire other brands to create and defend their ideas.
#CreateDontImitate
Our bitter experience – how we protected our brand name from attempted infringement
When we started Chilli Hills, we were thinking about chili peppers, recipes, and the people we would make happy – not about lawsuits. But as we built a farm, stores, festivals, and an international presence, we encountered the ugly side of success – imitations and abuses.
One day in 2022, we received a signal that when typing the name Chilli Hills in the Google search engine, a paid advertisement appeared with the title: “Chilli Hills - chili hills - chili for every taste” . But instead of going to our site, this advertisement led to the Hot Farm page. In other words – they were using our name to advertise their site and their products. This is a classic example of the illegal use of a registered trademark in online advertising in order to attract customers who were actually looking for us.
Chilli Hills is a protected trademark for the EU territory.
This means that such an action is a direct violation of the law.
After nearly three years of legal battle , with THREE consecutive decisions in favor of Chilli Hills, the Supreme Court of Cassation of the Republic of Bulgaria confirmed the existence of a violation . The court ruled: using our name in paid advertising is a violation of the law.
If we succeeded, so can you.
Don't pass it by. Take action now. Or one day everything you've worked for - you and your family - could be taken away.
That's why we turn our story into a mission .
A mission to serve small businesses and all victims of unfair commercial practices.
We will work with specialists in this field
We will point out the bad examples by their real names.
We will give publicity. We will share our personal experiences.
If your ideas have been stolen – don't give up. There is a point.
Contact us. Share your bitter experience. We will publicize it. We will direct you to the right specialists.
Our call
We believe in community. That's why we say: Create, don't imitate.
An original idea is the most powerful weapon of a small business. When everyone defends their own, we all win – consumers, producers, and the entire market.
Chilli Hills will continue to be a voice in this cause.
In the next video we will tell you exactly how we fought this battle ...
Stay tuned for more in the following articles:
- What is intellectual property?
- Trademark registration – the first and most important step
- Practical steps for every business
- What to do in case of a violation
- The international perspective
- Useful resources
