Trademark news

Transliteration Chinese trademarks

The Chinese market now consists of 1.4 billion consumers. China is not only a production country, but is also an attractive market for more and more companies. When a product is launched into the Chinese market, please also apply for the trademark in Chinese characters. When this is not done properly, chances are that an automatically generated translation emerges, that sometimes has a negative connotation, which can be harmful to the brand image. This way Quaker got nicknamed "Lǎorénpái" (老人 牌) which literally means “old man”. » trademark-registration

Adword use of competitor’s trademark

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”. » internet-online-branding

Champagne stops Champaws

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. » trademarks

Miffy with ducks beak, plagiarism or parody

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? » copyright

Klinsmann – Panini: 2-1

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. » trademarks
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IP quiz Trademarks

Puma is one of the bigger sports and lifestyle brands in the world. The core-business is the design, development and sale of (sports) shoes, (sports) clothing and accessories. In 1960, Puma registered an international trademark for a device designed in 1958: the formstrip. Since then, Puma has registered approximately 90 formstrip trademarks with validity in the Benelux or the European Union. Puma claims that this is a serial mark. Monshoe is a wholesaler of women's shoes and related products. The company designs and develops Monshoe shoes which it largely markets itself. Monshoe sells its women's shoes under the brands Shoecolate and Pearlz. The shoe Shoecolate is offered in various colour combinations. Puma claims that Monshoe infringes its well-known formstrip trademark. Monshoe contradicts this and states that the average consumer will not perceive the device of Monshoe on the sneakers as a trademark. And if the public will recognize a trademark in the decoration, it will not make the connection to Puma. According to Monshoe, the formstrip logo is not a well-known trademark within the meaning of the BVIE and the UMVo. There is no likelihood of confusion because the sign does not or hardly evoke any association with Puma among the public. In light of the above, who is right? Does this constitute decorative use or linking to a well-known trademark?