Official condom of Condom blocked
Business's attempt to market official "from Condom" contraceptives is blocked, and Bordeaux court imposes fine
AN ATTEMPT to market an official condom "from Condom" has been blocked by a judge.
The business project, funded by two French aristocrats, has been fined €9,000 for marketing condoms as the authentic condom "from Condom".
A court at Bordeaux has ordered the company to stop manufacturing the condoms with references to the French commune.
The contraceptives were actually manufactured in Malaysia, but the company's head office was based in Condom.
They are sold largely in the United States.
Count Gil de Bizemont, who co-founded the business with Prince Charles-Emmanuel de Bourbon Parme, told the Sud Ouest newspaper when launching the business: "When I discovered the existence of this commune, which has a river running through it called La Baïse , I thought, there's really an idea to get started here."
The local authority of Condom was not enthusiastic and, despite claims from the founders that a proposed distribution point and shop would bring jobs, took the business to court.
"It seems obvious that the English term condom cannot be used to make people believe that there is actually a specific, official type of condom in France under this name," said a lawyer for the town, Caroline Lampre.
