Metallica Wins Battle of the Brands in Chilean Trademark Fight

Heavy metal rock band Metallica soon will be able to sell T-shirts and other apparel stamped with their famous slashy logo in Chile after winning a trademark battle that’s lasted more than a decade.

Chile’s Supreme Court backed the group’s request to annul the graphically and phonetically identical trademark for clothing and footwear registered by Chilean businessman Horacio Mardones. The ruling, announced Oct. 3, marked second time Metallica has battled the businessman in court. The band in 2012 lost an attempt to oppose Mardones’ registration of the brand.

Despite its reputation as a business-friendly jurisdiction with modern intellectual property laws, ...