Diluting a Trademark

March 26, 2012
Trade Marks ™ ®

Italian fashion company Dolce & Gabbana is accusing a South African jewellery and purse-making business called Dolce & Banana of diluting their trademark.

Dilution is a basis of trademark infringement that applies to famous marks. When another person uses the mark, it has the potential for confusion because consumers could assume affiliation with the trademark regardless of the product or service being sold under the infringing use.

A 300-page affidavit has been submitted to the Western Cape High Court by Christiana Ruella, a board member of Dolce & Gabbana‘s holding company. They demanded that Dolce and Banana change their name because they mock the Dolce & Gabbana trademark.

Dolce & Banana shop owner Mijou Beller has since renamed the business “…& Banana” because of the lack of funds for a court battle.

Dolce & Gabbana also requested R100 000 for legal fees because two warnings were ignored before court action was taken.

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Jimmy Choo

November 22, 2011
Registered Designs

Jimmy Choo was born in Malaysia to a family of shoemakers. He made his first shoe when he was 11 years old.

He graduated from Cordwainers Technical College, England in 1983.

In 1996, he co-founded Jimmy Choo Ltd / J. Choo Limited with British Vogue magazine accessories editor Tamara Mellon.

Jimmy Choo Ltd is a British high fashion house specializing in luxury shoes, bags, leather products and accessories.

The company owns more than 400 design patents and has been the target of counterfeit imports in the UK, US and Australia.

Jimmy Choo Ltd  has also had several cases for copyright and trademark infringement regarding the company name, logo and slogan.

In 2006 the company took action against Marks & Spencer for selling a copy of the Jimmy Choo Cosmo silk satin evening bag. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount of money.

In  2008 the company threatened to sue a New Zealand website, Kookychoo.com, for trademark infringement. Kookychoo sells toys,  jewellery and bean bags.

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Ford F150 vs Ferrari F150

June 27, 2011
Attorneys, Trade Marks ™ ®

Image source: http//caronestopcloser.blogspot.com

Ferrari was recently sued by Ford Motor Company for trademark infringement because they named its 2011 Formula One racing car F150.

Ford Motor Company said that the Ferrari F150 logo is very similar to the Ford F150 logo.

Ford Motor Company filed a suit in Detroit, USA and requested that Ferrari  stop using the F150 name.

Ferrari originally chose the F150 name in honor of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. Ferrari renamed their Formula One racing car Ferrari F150 Italia.

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Google Adwords | Trademark Policies

August 19, 2009
Trade Marks ™ ®

Use of a Trademark Name as a Keyword on Google Adwords

Can I use a trademarked name as a keyword on a Google Adwords campaign, as long as the mentioned trademarked name is not used in the add body, or on the linked website?

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Trademark Attorneys

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What is Typosquatting?

June 10, 2009
Copyright ©, Domain Names, Intellectual Property News, Trade Marks ™ ®

Studies done in 2008 indicated that thousands of typosquatting websites exist on the Internet.

Typosquatting is a form of cybersquatting. A business registers a domain name that resembles a well-known brand, but with one spelling mistake. When a user makes a spelling mistake or a typo error he will then land on the typosquatting website.

Unknowingly in many cases the site can be a paid ad or the user can pay money into the account of the typosquatting site for a service, believing he is paying money into the real trademark holder site’s account.

There are numerous court cases every year about this type of trademark infringement.

Check the web regularly for possible infringements of your trademark and if you suspect typosquatting get in contact with the attorneys of Smit & Van Wyk for advice and assistance in taking action.

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