It remains an evil that we cannot rid: misleading and phantom invoices. When someone applies for a trademark to be registered, the applicant often receives a letter or invoice from a rogue company sooner than one from the authorities. By using highly similar logos, people may think they are dealing with official authorities. Consequence: payments of up to €2,300 are made for publication on a totally meaningless website. A good example of this are the invoices from EUOIP (Not to be confused with the EUIPO).
New Balance successfully challenged the use of the New Burlon logo in China this spring. The sports brand had placed an N, similar to that of New Balance, on a very similar area on their shoes.
Western companies leaving Russia have opened the door for trademark hijackers. Many new brands look suspiciously similar to the logos of departed companies, but as the new trademark owners almost always argue, this is purely coincidental. They are not hesitant to fight similarity claims.
A company's core business can always change. A good example of this, is the company Philips. Known for its lamps, televisions and audio equipment in the past, Philips nowadays produces medical equipment. When a company decides to change the main focus of their business, the older brands are often licensed to third parties, so that they can continue producing the old products. This raises the question: who is liable if something is wrong with these product?
More and more people are concerned about what the world will look like in the future. Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for consumers and influences their purchasing behaviour, choosing particular brands that claim to be sustainable. Consumers must be able to rely on these claims. Companies that make efforts to promote sustainability, must be protected against companies that unfairly use misleading sustainability claims. This gave the ACM (Authority Consumer & Market) reason to investigate misleading claims in the clothing industry.
Numerous companies are still trying to capitalize on the reputation of well-known brands. They often use visual elements or logos which immediately remind us of well-known trademarks, regardless of the words accompanied by these visual elements. To deal with this type of practices, it is wise to register the logo separately as a self-contained trademark.
Call us: 071-5763116 or send an e-mail: info@abcor-ip.com
Een korte introductie tekst over de nieuwsbrief waarin je uitlegt wat het is. Hoe je direct de nieuwste editie kunt lezen en hoe je je kunt abonneren. And click here for all the numbers.
Among others in this issue:
• EUIPO vs Mora TV: weigering geluidsmerk
• Jägermeister vs Alte Heiler: stop Russische copycat
• Stichting Nederlandse Top 40: gericht op Benelux?
• Tijdschrift HART vs Hermitage: soortgelijkheid
• Monique Granneman: nieuwe partner Abcor
