In October of 2009 Nissan introduced the Land Glider during the Tokyo Motor Show. A narrow two person car, in which you are seated behind each other, that hangs a bit in corners just like a motor cycle. A new concept of urban car. The name is slightly reminiscent of the supposedly indestructible Land Rover. When Nissan files for trademark protection Land Rover starts a procedure to prevent registration.
Christina Arvin Hembo is a jewelerry designer from Denmark. Her jewellery is composed of expensive material such as gold, silver and precious stones, which can be attached to leather bracelets. Each piece of jewellery has its own name, such as passion heart and four leaf clover. The jewellery is for sale in over more than twenty countries, through various distributors, such as th company Endless. In order to protect her rights Christina has protected her creations as European designs.
Fortuna has a website with information on boat trips. On one of the pages a picture is shown of Volendam, comparable with the picture below, without a notification of who the photographer is. An intern downloaded the picture from the internet. The photographer is Van Loo, a professional photographer. When he sees the picture on the website, he writes a letter to Fortuna seeking a settlement, while claiming three times the usual amount in damages. The first time for the use of the photo, another time for payment after the fact and a final time for not presenting his name on the picture. (This is obligatory according to the Photographer’s Federation’s terms of delivery)
Campaigns from Wakker Dier (an animal rights organization from the Netherlands) are always highly criticized. More often than not the complainant is not the company that is being criticized, but the “innocent” consumer. Prior to the hamster weeks at Albert Heijn, a new campaign is started in which two hamsters speak with a cripple broiler chicken. (To explain, Albert Heijn is the largest super market chain in the Netherlands. Hamsters are being used as mascots for bargain weeks.) A complaint was filed against this commercial.
Campaigns from Belgian political party Vlaams Belang often lead to court cases. The latest campaign for the European Parliamentary elections was no different: “Westmal of halal”. In the campaign we see Philip Dewinter drinking from a dome shaped glass, which is filled with a dark brown liquid. This image is the main visual on the Facebook campaign and the Twitter message announcing the campaign.
A special packaging is often enables a manufacturer to distinguish himself from the competition. Most of the times, however, a shape cannot be registered as a trademark. The authorities usually refuse to register a trademark because the consumer will not see it as a sign of origin. An exception is sometimes made if the shape of a product is distinctly different from what is customary.
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
