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Trademarks identify a particular product or service and enable consumers to quickly identify the source of a given good. In order to meet this function they must be distinctive. Trademark law protects the owner’s right to use the trademark exclusively and prevent others using a mark that is confusingly similar. Use of an identical mark on the same product would be considered confusing and could clearly constitute infringement. So far so good. But are you aware that the same standards exis... Read More
Category: News
Trademark bullying? The Glencoe story
Glencoe is an “unforgettable place of dramatic mountains, rare beauty and haunting history” in the Scottish Highlands. It is also a UK trademark, registered by several companies including The National Trust for Scotland. NTS’s 2016 trademark is registered for goods including beauty products, jewellery and clothing. A prior UK Glencoe mark protecting articles of clothing was registered in 1996 by Glenmuir Limited, a “family-run business dedicated to producing the finest golf wear” but it does no... Read More
.BRAND: The importance of the digital strategy, or the McDonald’s case
McDonald’s! The symbol of globalization: from the invention of the express service by the eponymous brothers to its successful franchise by Ray Kroc (I recommend the film ‘The Funder’), McDonald’s is an example of post-war entrepreneurial success. The BigMac, the Filet o’Fish? These are the inventions of franchisees that headquarters have agreed to develop throughout the world. A model of innovation. What about their digital strategy? When Internet arrives and everyone talks ab... Read More
A much awaited first report on DNS abuse in the new extensions
While the fate of 25 not yet delegated new extensions remains to seal, which represents approximately 2 % of all the accepted extensions during the current opening round, ICANN has just published a study on the proportion of DNS abuse in the new extensions launched after 2012. The study was requested by the Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice Review Team ( CCTRT), which is mandated by ICANN to examine the extent to which the introduction or expansion of generic extensions has promot... Read More
.BRAND : 4 episodes, for this summer
Act 3: Depression Five years ago, the number of domain name extensions was alright: less than 500. It was still possible to register its trademark and its company’s name in the extension of its choice and to act against fraudulent deposits. Attacks were unusual and you defended yourselves when smart little ones made contentious deposits. Some extensions only accepted subdomains registrations, such as Australia and the United Kingdom. Impossible to save at the root and impossible to regi... Read More
Have you heard of Esperancia?
Surely, you have already noticed the Esperancia logo in the email signature of your Nameshield partner. But do you know how it works? Esperancia is an endowment fund with an innovative and ingenious concept: the search for long lasting funding. This system ensures to maintain its purpose: a long-term action to the associations it supports. If Esperancia owns 15% of our company’s shares, Nameshield also transfers 1% of its annual revenue to Esperancia. Therefore, as a Nameshield customer... Read More
.BRAND : 4 episodes, for this summer
Act 2: Expression We left off on the time when the brands did not feel the Internet revolution, the techniques evolving and the registered domain names. (Read act 1: Denial (and anger)) The example of McDonald’s is interesting. In 1994, Wired, an American magazine created a year earlier, communicates about the case of mcdonalds.com. Joshua Quittner, a journalist at Newsday, contacted McDonald’s and asked if they would be interested in registering mcdonalds.com. There was litt... Read More
Nameshield: The first French registrar certified ISO 27001 on all its registrar activity
Nameshield is proud to announce its ISO 27001 certification on all its registrar activity, the product of many months of work. Why the ISO 27001 certification? Since its creation, 23 years ago, Nameshield has taken to heart to provide to its customers the best services under conditions of optimal security. By choosing the ISO 27001 standard, this constant care given to all our services is now certified by a competent authority. The impressive rise of the occurrence and the force o... Read More
.BRAND : 4 episodes, for this summer
Act 1: Denial (and Anger) The brand, a forbidden territory. Everything is played out by attacks, complaints, courts. A ruthless world. Since the 23rd of June 1857 and the creation of the first system of trademarks by France, it is possible to benefit from an exclusive right of use for a term on different applications. Otherwise the law is coming. The arrival of the Internet will shake up this foundation. If one remembers the Milka conflict with Kraft foods, which led to the famous opposition... Read More
Bitter taste to confectionary disputes
Last week the UK Court of Appeal ruled on the long running battle between Nestlé and Cadbury (owned by Mondeleze) over the attempt to register the shape of the KitKat bar in the UK. Trademarks need to be a “badge of origin”. In particular registration of a shape mark requires good evidence of acquired distinctiveness to show that consumers rely on shape in a “trade mark sense”. The UK court has ruled that this is not the case for the KitKat shape. The mere fact that consumers reco... Read More