3 minute read
Trademarks: pints and ploys in UK
• Two media brouhahas underline the need to be diligent in your handling of intellectual property
Chiraag Maharaj
ENSafrica
Navigating the intricate world of intellectual property (IP) disputes can lead to intriguing developments, and two recent cases in the UK have caught the attention of legal enthusiasts and curious observers
If you follow international IP law developments, you ’ll know UK supermarkets regularly feature in IP disputes
MARKS & SPENCER
Marks & Spencer (M&S) is, of course, a British institution
You might imagine that the retailer is well informed when it comes to launching new brands M&S recently decided to add a particular Tshirt to its collection, featuring the name “Craft Beer Co” on the front and back
CRAFT BEER CO
There’ s a company called Craft Beer Co, which was started by two friends in 2011, and now has seven pubs in London and one in Brighton
The company complained about M&S’ s adoption of the name “Craft Beer Co”
TRADITIONS
The traditional way of dealing with a trademark dispute goes something like this: the aggrieved party consults with a lawyer, who then sends the alleged trademark infringer a nasty and threatening letter, and then sends the client a nasty bill, under cover of a letter making it clear it would be a mistake not to pay it But tradition is so yesterday!
Craft Beer Co, didn’t bother with lawyers It took to Twitter: “What’ s the idea with these T-shirts?” , “Can we expect a royalties cheque in the post?” , “Surely one iconic British institution shouldn’t be ripping off another ”
THE M&S RESPONSE
M&S did not contest the claim It said it had adopted the name “Craft Beer Co” “in good faith” It insisted it takes IP “ very seriously” and took the decision to remove the product “ so we can investigate further”
M&S made the point that “the graphics on the back and chest add a distinctive theme”
JUST A BOO BOO?
The UK press loves IP disputes and they quickly picked up on this story Craft Beer Co co-owner Martin Hayes said this in the most British of ways: “I’ m not angry about it, but it is a little annoying I’ ve got a lot of respect for M&S
“It’ s an iconic British business and I think somebody’ s just made a bit of a boo boo really, but I’ m sure it will be sorted out ”
Hayes went further, saying that “ we ’ re a relatively small business so I don’t think we ’ll be taking on a PLC this isn’t Aldi v Marks & Spencer” , a reference to the highly publicised Colin the Caterpillar case This then prompted Aldi itself to join in the fun with a tweet of its own: “Oh how the tables have turned ”
LESSONS
This story brings home the importance of trademarks in a number of ways
● The importance of creating the right trademark;
● The importance of clearing the trademark by way of searching;
● The importance of protecting the trademark through registration;
● The importance of understanding how fascinated the press is by trademark disputes; and
● The importance of recognising how getting trademark issues wrong can lead to serious reputational damage
WAGATHA CHRISTIE
A recent posting in the IPKat blog deals with an IP angle of the Wagatha Christie saga It was inspired by the fact that Rebekah Vardy has managed to secure a trademark registration in the UK for the name WAGATHA CHRISTIE in a number of classes
REBEKAH AND COLEEN
Rebekah Vardy is the wife of footballer Jamie Vardy Jamie’ s fame has made Rebekah a “WAG” , a term used to describe the wife or girlfriend of a celebrity Rebekah was recently involved in acrimonious litigation with another WAG, Coleen Rooney, the wife of footballer Wayne Rooney
For some time, Rebekah and Coleen moved in the same circles But at some point, Coleen concluded that someone in her circle was leaking stories to the press She suspected that someone was Rebekah
DETECTIVE
Coleen then decided to play detective, setting up a sting operation that involved a fake story that was only made available to Rebekah When this story appeared in the press, Coleen knew that her suspicions had been correct: the mole was indeed
Rebekah Coleen put the following breathless message on Twitter: “It’ s Rebekah’ s account “
Cue high court proceedings that became known as the Wagatha Christie case, a play on the name Agatha Christie, the famous crime writer High court proceedings that went in favour of Coleen Rooney, mind you
IP lawyer Neil Wilkof posted an interesting and slightly whimsical piece on this story on the IPKat blog recently
MEME
Wilkof despairs somewhat at the fact that WAGATHA CHRISTIE a mere “cultural meme ” has in fact been registered as a trademark
Despite this, he concedes that it probably is fair game because it belongs to no-one
He accepts that WAGATHA CHRISTIE is distinctive and that it can act as a badge of origin
He queries whether there might be an element of bad faith present here, but he doesn’t press the point He argues that we need to look at context when assessing trademark registrations
● Reviewed by Ilse du Plessis, an executive in ENSafrica’ s IP department
