2017-07-23
When a third party infringes your trademark, it is tempting to drag them to court. But, is it worth it? However tempting it may seem, every organization, whether trademark owner or infringer, wishes to avoid trademark infringement lawsuits because of the cost, time, and resources it demands. A single lawsuit can force you to shell out a significant sum of money. While at times it is necessary, there are ways to avoid legal battles. And the best way to learn is from examples set by others. We give you some trademark infringement cases and share some valuable insights they provide.
Louis Vuitton V. Louis Vuiton Dak
This is a shocking example of international trademark infringement where the infringing party could have easily avoided the legal battle, not to mention the huge fine. A South Korean fried chicken restaurant made the mistake of naming the business as Louis Vuiton Dak, which is similar to the popular fashion brand Louis Vuitton. What’s more, apart from the name, the logo and packaging closely resembled the designer brand’s imagery. Although the restaurant changed its name to ‘Louisvui Tondak’ after the first ruling, the French fashion house initiated legal action and the infringer was asked to shell out a fine of 14.5 million!
Academy Awards V. GoDaddy
GoDaddy, a popular internet domain registrar and web hosting company, faced a lawsuit from Academy Awards over cybersquatting issues. The lawsuit filed targeted GoDaddy’s decisions to allow customers to buy similar domain names like 2011Oscars.com or betacademyawards.com. In this five-year long battle, Academy Awards lost to GoDaddy, as the judge found no evidence of bad faith in the latter’s decisions. It was noted that the sale of these domain names did not relieve Academy Awards of its legal duty to police their trademarks. The battle was not only expensive and infuriating, but the key point to be noted here is that every case is based on its own set of facts and not everyone would be successful under different circumstances or with different facts.
Starbucks V. Freddocino
Starbucks filed an infringement lawsuit against the parent company of New York’s Coffee Culture Café in 2016 for launching a drink named Freddocino. The drink name is confusingly similar to Frappucino, whose trademark rights are owned by Starbucks. The lawsuit further alleged that the drink and the name structure both are capable of causing confusion in the market and diminishing their repute. What’s more, it also pointed out the deceptive packaging that made the term Freddocino appear to be a registered trademark in the US, when it was not. Although the infringing party changed the name of the drink to ‘Freddo’ and verdict is still pending, they could have easily avoided the lawsuit by choosing to not infringe on a trademark that is worth billions!
The lack of research and caution is clearly seen in the outcomes of the above-mentioned trademark infringement cases. Since trademark battles can drain you of resources, it is better to exercise caution when choosing your trademarks. Obtaining the services of a trademark agent can be beneficial when registering or facing infringement.
