When is it allowed to use your competitors / market leaders brand as an Adword in an online campaign? In a recent case defendant carried out a comparison test of his own water softener (Aquamag7000) and the Amfa4000 from competitor 24Man. The comparison is positive for the defendants product and the company wants to generate publicity with this result. If the search term Amfa4000 is entered in Google, ads appear with headlines like “Amfa4000 vs Aquamag 7000 - read this before your purchase”.
Within trademark law we are familiar with the protection of Designations of Origin. These are terms that can only be used by companies if they meet certain strict conditions, for example, the ingredients should come from a certain area and the product is made in a certain way. This also applies to the term CHAMPAGNE.
An online row occurred in China about an exhibition of Feng Feng’s paintings. Stylized rabbits with a duck beak, strongly reminding of Dick Bruna's Miffy. The artist rejects accusations of plagiarism because commercial symbols are part of the public domain. How would we regard this in Europe?
When Jürgen Klinsmann seeks trademark protection of a silhouette image of his bicycle kick in the match against Bayern Munich for print, clothing and beverages, Panini objects.
I would like to finish by the fact that, due to the increasing attention to IP rights, it is now clear to the business world, that IP protection is an essential factor for driving and stimulating innovation within companies and for the survival of companies.
However, it is not clear to everybody that this is a highly specialized profession. There ought to be recognition and awareness that the people who work in this area, are specialists.
In addition, we must realize that staff can only flourish if they can and may be 100% themselves.
Especially towards the SME, there is a great opportunity, to put our profession clearly on the map. There, it must be realized that a BMM member stands for quality, that the BMM membership is a guarantee to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Know, that I would like to guide that process for the next two years as your new president.
Bullsone markets automotive cleaning and maintenance products. In South Korea, the company has a market share of 90%. An aggressive bull features as their logo. Red Bull is one of the best known brands of energy drink. Their logo depicts 2 bulls charging against each other. In 2011 Bullsone decided to change its logo. When Bullsone prepares to enter the Austrian market, Red Bull starts a lawsuit demanding a ban on the Bullsone logo in the European Union.
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
