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EIP Eau Rouge
Trademark Applications show Nissan racing to Infiniti
Nissan have supported their latest luxury car brand with trademark applications to register EAU ROUGE in Japan and the USA. Sharon Daboul, trademark attorney at EIP, brings us up to speed on the latest developments.
M
any readers may recognise Eau Rouge as the name of a famous bend in the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix
racing track, Spa-Francorchamps. Built in the 1920s, the uphill Eau Rouge bend is particularly famous on the circuit for the speed and skill required to navigate it successfully. Eau Rouge is also the name of Nissan Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Nissan)’s latest luxury car prototype, the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge, which is still a concept but could be given the green light later this year.
On 2 December 2013, Nissan filed a trademark application to register EAU ROUGE in Japan. The trademark application includes automobiles and was registered in April. On 8 January 2014, Nissan then applied to register EAU ROUGE before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The specification of the trademark application includes “Automobiles and their structural parts; Fuel cell automobiles and their structural parts; Concept cars”.
According to the file, the application has been examined, and a status update
on 18 September 2014 indicates that the application has been accepted. It will shortly be published for opposition purposes, and during the opposition period, third parties will have the opportunity to lodge an objection against the trademark, for instance if it conflicts with earlier rights.
An examiner at the USPTO searched for pending or registered trademarks on the official trademark database and did not select any similar trademarks that would bar registration for EAU ROUGE as a trademark for automobiles in America. The opposition period will reveal whether any third parties will attempt to prevent the mark from being registered.
As part of their US trademark application, Nissan have claimed they intend to use EAU ROUGE on automobiles. The concept car debuted in January this year, at the Detroit Auto Show, and was also displayed in Geneva, and at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK, this summer. The prototype has been launched under Nissan’s luxury sub-brand, “Infiniti” and reviews so far have been positive.
Seven days after Nissan applied to register EAU ROUGE for automobiles in Japan,
SEPTEMBER 2014