confusion
Will Google’s Alphabet Begin with B-M-W?
“A, B, C,…as easy as 1, 2, 3?” That remains to be seen. BMW may be driving Google down a bumpy road named Trademark-Infringement Lane, after Google surprised everyone on August 10th with the creation of a new company, Alphabet. I say this because the trademark “Alphabet” and the domain name alphabet.com are currently owned by German automobile-manufacturer BMW. Following the announcement, BMW reportedly […]
Reality Check: Federal Court Rejects Bridgestone’s Hypothetical Channels of Trade Argument in Confusion Analysis
The Federal Court recently dismissed an appeal from the Trade-marks Opposition Board regarding confusion between trade-marks for Bridgestone's motor tires and Campagnolo's specialty bike accessories. What made this case especially interesting were the comments on arguments regarding "hypothetical channels of trade".
Scrabble Scrambles for Trade-mark Infringement Ruling
Popular online game developer Zynga was recently the subject of a trade-mark infringement claim over their game “Scramble With Friends.” In the England and Wales High Court case, J.W. Spear & Sons Ltd Mattel, Inc & Anor v Zynga, Mattel claimed that the Zynga game infringed their SCRABBLE and SCRAMBLE family of marks.
Imperial Tobacco v Philip Morris: Product Packaging Alone Creates Consumer Confusion
On June 29, the Federal Court of Appeal allowed in part Imperial Tobacco’s lawsuit against Philip Morris, holding that the appearance of Imperial Tobacco’s packaging was in and of itself a trademark. The full decision may be read here.