Read and enjoy the latest about the fascinating world of trademarks here. The latest on developments in the field of trademark rights, including background information, relevant cases and videos about a range of trademark topics can be found in our Thinktank.
Pokémon has been having a tough time lately. As a popular game brand that is well-known all over the world, it naturally has a significant fan base. Unfortunately, some of those fans turned out to be free riders. News recently broke that the game Palword was some kind of A.I. rip off (meaning a possible copyright infringement). As if this were not enough, Pokémon has also had to defend its trademark rights. Fortunately for Pokémon, the opposition proceedings before the European Trademarks Office were a walk in the park, given that the best name the opposing party ─ a Chinese company ─ had been able to come up with was ‘Pokemo’.
Energy drinks and video games may not, at first glance, seem to be in direct competition. However, well-known game producer Ubisoft recently faced an objection from Monster Energy, the company behind the drinks of the same name. Monster Energy filed an opposition to the new videogame Gods & Monsters on the grounds that it could be confused with the MONSTER ENERGY logo.
A Dutch insurance company regularly runs television commercials saying "Stay ordinary for long enough and one day you will be special". There is certainly a kernel of truth to this saying. Unfortunately, it does not tend to apply to trademarks that are inherently lacking in distinctiveness. These are often word marks that spell out exactly what a company does.
Our “trademark eye” is always on the lookout for companies rebranding. This time we spotted that U.S. Gas station and convenience store chain ‘Kum & Go’ will reportedly rebrand after being sold to new owners.
