NEWS
Aston Martin seeks to drive out former
Luxury car maker Aston Martin has sued one of
its former design directors launching a prototype that
trademarks and designs. In its complaint, filed on March 27, Aston
Martin said Henrik Fisker showcased the design at an automobile show in Florida despite being told by Aston Martin that doing so would infringe its intellectual property rights. According to Aston Martin, Fisker’s
Tunderbolt car incorporates features too similar to those owned by the car maker, including its wings logo and the design of a grille and side vent. Fisker, who worked at Aston Martin from 2001 until 2004, allegedly
approached the
UK-headquartered company in November last year about collaborating on a proposal named Project Tunderbolt. Te Tunderbolt car, Fisker is claimed to
have said, would be a “re-imagined” Aston Martin automobile released in the car maker’s Vanquish range. Aston Martin informed Fisker that the launch
of any car would infringe its IP rights and that he did not have its permission to launch the model. Despite this, Fisker apparently launched a
prototype at the Florida-based car show Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, on March 14. “Fisker unveiled a Tunderbolt prototype car
that violates Aston Martin’s IP rights in many ways,” Aston Martin said in its complaint, filed at the US District Court for the Central District of California. Te company added: “Te Aston Martin
badges featuring its famous wings logo either had been leſt on the Tunderbolt prototype, or very similar badges had been substituted in their place. Either way, the iconic wings logo or a confusingly similar variation thereof was still prominently displayed on the front and back badges. “Fisker’s bad-faith intent
to free-ride off
the tremendous goodwill associated with the famous Aston Martin mark, wings logo, side vent mark, and Vanquish mark could not be more transparent,” Aston Martin said. “As a former design director at Aston Martin,
defendant Fisker has long known about the power and value of Aston Martin’s brands and proprietary designs.” Aston Martin is seeking an order demanding
that Fisker destroys the product, as well as damages and attorney’s fees.
for allegedly infringes its
ITMA SPRING CONFERENCE 2015 We’ll speed up Madrid applications, says WIPO
A representative from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has apologised to a group of lawyers for the amount of time it takes to process trademark applications filed under the Madrid System. Responding to criticism at the Institute of Trademark Attorneys’
Set up in 1891, the Madrid System allows trademark owners to register their rights in countries covered by the regime. Applicants can apply for trademarks at
their national
intellectual property office or at WIPO. Roenning said WIPO faces increasing
(ITMA) March
conference in London, Debbie Roenning, director of the legal division, Madrid Registry at WIPO, said she was “sorry” that the application process is slow. She added that WIPO is engaged in a
“clean-up process” to improve its speed. A spokesperson for WIPO told WIPR
that on average it takes about two months to process a Madrid application. It added that the organisation is “fully engaged in reforms that will lead to a reduction in the processing time”. Roenning said she wanted to make the
system more “user-friendly” and referred to the introduction of an electronic system that enables clients to track the progress of their application as a step in the right direction.
challenges as more and more countries join the system and that it also needed to account for the increasing “linguistic diversity” of the countries that join. She added: “Chinese companies looking to
protect the English translation of their name in the EU have to file for that trademark in China. If
they don’t use that trademark in
China then it is vulnerable to cancellation and this will affect their international registration.” Tere are 95 members of the Madrid
System, with more expected to join in the near future. Roenning said she expects Canada to join at the end of next year, and that there have already been discussions with Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Nigeria and South Africa about participating.
Te UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has revealed that it received a record number of trademark applications in the last financial year. Steve Rowan, divisional director for trademarks and designs at
the IPO, told
an industry conference that total annual applications had surpassed the 55,000 mark for the first time, adding that there had been a 33% increase in filings since 2011. “Tis is the highest figure since there has
been a UK registry and we are seeing a huge growth in applications,” Rowan told the ITMA spring conference in London. Te last financial year ran from April 1,
2014 to March 31, 2015. Rowan was speaking on the subject of
convergence—the theme of the conference— and said the IPO would be seeking to join the Hague Agreement by “some point next year”. Administered by the WIPO, the agreement
covers protection for industrial designs in all participating nations. Rowan told delegates: “It’s a complicated
procedure [joining a treaty or agreement] and it may take some time but our plan is to join next year.” He added that the office, in order to bring
it more into line with the rest of Europe, is reviewing its fees for registering designs.
12 World Intellectual Property Review May/June 2015 33%
increase in trademark filings at the IPO since 2011
“Tere’s not enough convergence between
UK law and EU law and our fees are very out of step with those of our counterparts in Europe. Applicants have previously found they are better off getting a Community design (covering all of Europe) as opposed to a UK design.”
Te IPO has also launched a consultation
on introducing an opinion service for designs. Opinion services, which are currently
available only for patents, allow a person or organisation involved in a dispute over alleged infringement to request from the office a non- binding opinion on the matter. Te consultation, which will seek opinions
on what the service should entail, will close on May 15.
www.worldipreview.com
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