In our last newsletter we showcased a campaign by Suit Supply, that was borderline inadmissible. The Advertising Code Committee was not given a reprieve because a new case, this time against lingerie company Sapph followed almost immediately.
Bratz is a line of toys, featuring dolls with exaggerated facial features, owned by American MGA ENTERTAINMENT. The first dolls were launched in 2001, but the real success came in 2005 / 2006 when sales reached about two billion. The growth in market share (up 40%) came at the expense of Mattel's Barbie.
A restaurant in London has started selling ice cream made from breast milk, called Baby Gaga. Fifteen young mothers supplied their milk and received an unknown payment in return. There are no English laws that prohibit the use of (human) breast milk.
Deac sells CAFEMA coffee to companies in the Netherlands. COFFEMA produces coffee machines for the professional market. In order to protect its trademark rights COFFEMA seeks to register her name as a trademark with the European authorities. Deac opposed this action, stating that coffee and coffee machines are so connected, that the market may think that the products originate from the same company.
Famous brands have a wider scope of protection. The European Court in the case of L'Oréal / Bellure decided that "It is no longer admissible to sail in the wake of a famous trademark and profit from its reputation and prestige, without a financial compensation." Many court decisions followed based on this case, but they always concerned a wordmark. To date there is little case law on how these rules apply to pure logos (logos without any accompanying words).
Suit Supply’s new campaign “Shameless” caused a lot of commotion. It did not take long before the Dutch Advertising Standards Authority (RCC) was flooded with complaints. The complainants claimed that Suit Supply’s new advertisement was indecent and of very poor taste. The RCC, however, decided that the reference to sexually explicit acts were not of such severity that any moral standard had been breached.
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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