NEWS Greggs lands PR coup following image hack
British baker Greggs responded creatively to the online hacking of its logo by offering free doughnuts to Google to fix the problem quickly.
An internet user had notified Greggs after searching for it on Google and noticing its
logo had been tampered with. The hacked logo read “providing sh** to scum for 70 years”.
Greggs, the UK’s largest bakery chain, began trending on Twitter on August 19 and was inundated with tweets about the problem.
The company asked Google to rectify the problem before messaging the search company’s UK Twitter account to say “fix it and they’re yours!!!” with a picture of a tray of doughnuts.
In response, Google said: “Sorry, we’re on it. Throw in a sausage roll and we’ll get it done ASAP. #fixgreggs”
After Google fixed the problem shortly after, announcing it with the hashtag #FixedGreggs, it tweeted an image of an empty-looking board with crumbs on it and the message #ategreggs.
Accompanied by a picture, Greggs then suggested Google should base its next ‘doodle’ on the word Google made out of sausage rolls.
As reported by TBO, the Google ‘doodle’, a re-worked version of the Google logo, is an example of a fluid trademark, one that is presented in an unconventional way.
Porsche loses .social domain to car enthusiast
German car company Porsche has failed to win a cybersquatting dispute against a registrant who plans to use the domain name to bring together admirers of the brand.
Porsche had complained about
porsche.social under the URS.
The complaint was filed in July, with a decision handed down on August 14 before being published on August 18.
Karl Fink, the examiner, said Porsche had failed to show by “clear and convincing evidence” that the domain matched its trademark, that the registrant had no rights to it, and that it was registered or being used in bad faith.
He said the respondent, Interactiv Corporation of San Jose, stated its intention to create a “free community” for Porsche car enthusiasts and put a disclaimer on every webpage that it is not affiliated to, or authorised by, Porsche.
Disney and BMW fakes among US customs haul
US customs officials have seized goods mimicking branded goods such as Disney, BMW, Samsung and Beats by Dre.
Te goods, shipped from online vendors in China and Hong Kong, were uncovered by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
According to a release dated August 14, the courier consignments contained counterfeit speakers, car beepers, iPhone parts, mobile phone front screens, USB cables and wrist watches.
10 Trademarks & Brands Online
“Te trade in these illegitimate goods is associated with smuggling and other criminal activities, and oſten funds criminal enterprises,” said area port director Juan Hurtado. “Protecting IP rights remains a CBP priority trade issue.”
CBP openly admits enforcing IP aggressively, targeting and seizing fake and pirated imports, and enforcing exclusion orders on patent- infringing goods.
To do this it relies heavily on the cooperation of IP owners, and it said companies that have
Volume 3, Issue 3
registered their rights with the US Patent and Trademark Office or the Copyright Office “will want to inform CBP”.
Earlier this year, San Juan-based CBP officers revealed they had seized counterfeit Brazil, Argentina and Italy football shirts sent
from
Hong Kong during the football World Cup in Brazil. Te goods infringed the brands of Puma, Adidas and Nike, the respective sponsors of Italy, Argentina and Brazil.
www.trademarksandbrandsonline.com
“The use of ‘.social’ in the domain name, and the screenshot from the respondent’s website, are evidence of that intent,” argued Fink in a short decision.
In better news for Porsche, it won a cybersquatting dispute under the UDRP against
porscheuae.com, which included copied images from Porsche’s official website.
DMYTRO MYKHAILOV /
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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