The scent of Bin Laden

In 2002 we asked Would you wear Bin Ladin pants? because we had just spotted that Osamas half-bro Yeslam Binladin had the name as a trademark in Switzerland.

Outraged Swiss authorities have revoked the Bin Ladin trademark that had been registered by the millionaire half-brother of the al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Yeslam Binladin wanted to launch a fashion brand then, now he has launched a perfume called Yeslam. Swissinfo reports that an appeals committee has overturned the earlier decision and recognise the trademark licence, see article: Swiss recognise Bin Ladin trademark

It added that there was no reason to ban a brand name that was already registered. The Federal Institute of Intellectual Property had registered the trademark in August 2001, one month before the September 11 terrorist attacks blamed on Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network.

The appeals committee said that when the brand name was registered there had been no adverse reaction within Switzerland or from abroad. It further stated that there was no proven link between Osama bin Laden and the September 11 attacks.