Free-Riding on Taglines – Red Bull … Gives you wings
Taglines are a popular means of communication for companies. But when are they registrable as a trade mark and when can they be infringed?
Advertising with environmental reference – CLIMATE-NEUTRAL
A symbol of a company’s green credentials can attract customers. Under what circumstances could such terms be used in advertising? And can they be protected as a trademark?
Protection for sustainability brands … a game of chance? – SmartBlue
Sustainability-focused brands are attractive. But how can you achieve effective brand protection?
Protectability of sustainability brands – GREEN CHOICE
Every company wants to present itself as sustainable and environmentally friendly. Brands that suggest this, or that can validly make this claim, benefit from greater popularity. Brands that score highly in terms of sustainability often achieve more sales. Yet why do these projects so often fail? And why do they fall short of providing the necessary value, given the money that has been invested in them? That’s what a well-known shirt manufacturer has recently had to find out.
Trade mark for simple figurative signs – adidas
Under what conditions can simple figurative signs be protected as trade marks? Even 12,000 pages of evidence of use were insufficient to prove the registrability of an additional adidas three-stripe mark in this important case.
Deception by registered trademark symbol ® – grill master
A caterer had the idea of registering ‘grill meister’ [‘grill master’] as a brand for his barbecue and beer products, as well as for his catering. He gave his brand a simple design and as a special feature the registered trademark symbol ®. However, the caterer was very surprised when the Federal Court of Justice certified his trade mark as not only being unable to be protected, but also deceptive.