[pp.int.general] trademarks

[Andrew Norton]

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On 4/11/2010 4:40 AM, Reinier Bakels wrote:

>>
>> Intel sued various people for using the word "inside", and remember the
>> company that tries to own the "I"? German Telekom won several cases for
>> the color magenta.
> If you try to sell telecom products using this typical magenta colour,
> yes, it may be unfair competition. But trademark law does not prevent
> you from selling magenta toilet paper - to name just a product.
> Trademark law distinguishes by product group. (I was actually suprised
> when someone was caught by customes with Louis Vuitton toilet paper -
> because LV does not sell toilet paper itself. (And it is ugly. But that
> is a matter of taste. I hate LV)).

Wasn't the Vuitton TP, paper with the trademark printed all over it?
Thus it's using the exact trademark on a product that wasn't made by
htem intentionally to associate it with LV?

> 
> I would be surprised if "xxx inside" really infringes the "Intel inside"
> trademark, because it is by and large descriptive. Would the designation
> "AMD inside" create confusion? (which is decisve for trademark
> infringement)? I would say: rather the opposite.
> 
I know well know author Sir Terry Pratchett has for many years sold
stickers to put on computers with the phrase 'Anthill Inside' (A
reference to the fictional pseudo-computer Hex in his Discworld books -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hex_(Discworld))
http://www.paulkidby.com/stickers/index.html

> That reminds me of Peugeot, with its x0y seris of cars, objecting
> against Porsche using "901" designation. So Porsche chose "911" (which
> nowadays has a very special meaning, but that is something else). With
> the confusion creterion, think of someone planning to buy a Peugot, and
> then, when rhe returns home notices that - by mistake - he bought a
> Porsche. Yes, he was suprised about the price, but did not notice he
> bought a Porsche instead of a Peugeot ...

Remember when they brought out the 1007? Peugeot were emphatic
(according to one UK motoring journalist) that it be pronounced the
"ten-oh-seven' or 'thousand and seven' as opposed to the '1 double oh
seven' due to pressure about the reference to James Bond.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/carreviews/2734401/Mind-the-doors.html

>>
>> Trademarks are very easy to be used against competitors, and they do not
>> provide a real benefit. Betraying a consumer is illegal, trademarks do
>> not offer any protection agaist that.
>>
> There are always these general rules of unfair compettion and tort. I
> tthink it is helpful to have more specific rules whenever possible
> (which may even be required under German law because it has no
> open-ended tort - which would remind of gesundes Volksempfinden).
> 

In the Us, there's serveral companies I can think of that are abusive of
competition. Monster Cables springs to mind, as does Monster Energy
Drink. Both companies have sued for companies with similar names,
although not similar enough for the 'man in a hurry' test. (The most
recent example was when a Vermont Microbrewery made a small brewing run
of a drink they called 'Vermonster'
http://consumerist.com/2009/10/make-monster-pun-with-beer-get-sued-by-makers-of-monster-energy.html

Closer to most of you, mosot of you have heard of Stelios Haji-Ioannou's
empire of 'easy...' (EasyJet, EasyRentacar etc). He's been well known
for attempting to have anything else with the name 'easy...' shut down
as trademark infrignement, such as easybroker and easycar
http://www.communigate.co.uk/chesh/thepizzacompamy/forum.phtml?action=message&parent_id=1175&phpforum_id=1794&page=1&response_id=1794



just some more caselaw for you all

Andrew
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