Comments on the Trademark Squatting of HERMES

Another Lesson from the Negligence of Trademark Localization

It’s reported (note: the link is in Chinese) that the well-known luxury brand HERMES INTERNATIONAL has registered its international trademark of HERMES in China as early as in 1985, while its official Chinese name 爱马仕 is unregistered. While, on the other hand, Dafeng Garment (the “Dafeng”), a clothing company admitted in Foshan City of Guangdong Province registered the Chinese trademark of爱马仕 in September of 1995, though it was disputed later in 1997 and 2001, Dafeng still owns the right of the trademark. In 2009, HERMES INTERNATIONAL registered爱马仕 in the class of tie manufacture, which was refused by the trademark office and remained rejected by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (the “Board”) after the review procedure. After that HERMES INTERNATIONAL filed the lawsuit against the Board, but finally the court supported the decision made by the Board.

READ MORE

How to Protect the Angry Birds Brand in China?

——It is important to get a localized trademark application program.

The China Industry and Commerce News reported that the developer of the game Angry Birds, ROVIO MOBILE OY (ROVIO) hasn’t yet applied for any Chinese trademark such as “愤怒的小鸟” of the trademark “ANGRY BIRDS”, but only has applied the trademark “ANGRY BIRDS” and the figure trademark of a angry birds for international extension on the No. 9、16、28、41 classifications of goods and services. Therefore, ROVIO company will face great challenges on trademark protection of “ANGRY BIRDS “in China. Bridge IP Lawyer Commentary would aware the foreign enterprises and individuals who want to apply for trademark registration in China of the following two aspects.

READ MORE

Attention matters on Registration of Game Trademark in China

With the development of Internet, the video game once again gains the popularity. For instance, the well known “Angry Bird” has enjoyed a global download volume of more than 500 million times, and the name of it has been widely known as a brand. Therefore, more and more game companies choose to register the game name as trademarks in order to protect their brands. And the followings are the tips from Bridge IP Law Commentary in trademark registration:

I. What kind of game names can be registered as trademarks? 

READ MORE