General Forum

Re: Bang & Olufsen wins trade mark case in EU court

Tom — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 00:38:09 GMT

expoman:
There is a company I think in China currently making a copy of Beolab 8000. Maybe that was the reason for this.

Is there any company in China that is not making copies of something?

Re: Bang & Olufsen wins trade mark case in EU court

expoman — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:36:24 GMT

There is a company I think in China currently making a copy of Beolab 8000. Maybe that was the reason for this.

Re: Bang & Olufsen wins trade mark case in EU court

joynsyde — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:25:58 GMT

9 LEE:
Forgive me for being cynical - but hasn't that landmark judgement come a whole thirteen years after they were launched?

If anyone was going to make a direct copy, they would have done it years ago surely? I'm missing the point though i'm sure, and i really wish B&O all the best in copyrighting their designs.

Lee

But OHIM was only established in 1999. That would be the soonest B&O could apply for a trademark with that organization.

Re: Bang & Olufsen wins trade mark case in EU court

Tom — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:01:07 GMT

You are right, for the BL8000, the judgement comes some 13 years to late. But I think the main "advantage" of this judgement is not for BL8000, but for more recent or future products that look very different from the regular products. (like BL3 or BL5)

Re: Bang & Olufsen wins trade mark case in EU court

9 LEE — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:44:37 GMT

Forgive me for being cynical - but hasn't that landmark judgement come a whole thirteen years after they were launched?

If anyone was going to make a direct copy, they would have done it years ago surely? I'm missing the point though i'm sure, and i really wish B&O all the best in copyrighting their designs.

Lee

Re: Bang & Olufsen wins trade mark case in EU court

Jandyt — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:29:26 GMT

I agree with Tom, this can only be good news.
Of course there will always be copies, let's hope that this is the first of many similar ca

Re: Bang & Olufsen wins trade mark case in EU court

Tom — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:22:30 GMT

kuyttendaele:
...
RB Boersen news agency said, citing Bang & Olufsen's chief legal officer Kim Bo Hansen, that the decision is important as it will make it easier for the group to protect its designs against piracy.
Bang & Olufsen will now decide on whether to register other products as trade marks, Hansen said....

This sounds like very important (and of course good) news for B&O!

But kikinoko-brands will continue to build music systems that look like BS9000 and I am sure there will be some bad copies of BL3 or BL5 around in some years too, as the word "distinctif" can be interpreted in very different ways...

Bang & Olufsen wins trade mark case in EU court

Karel Uyttendaele — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:12:08 GMT

Bang & Olufsen wins trade mark case in EU court
COPENHAGEN (Thomson Financial) - Danish home electronics maker Bang & Olufsen AS has won a case in the European Court of First Instance regarding the trade mark protection of its loudspeaker Beolab 8000.

The EU's trademark and designs registry (OHIM) previously ruled that the loudspeaker was not distinctive enough to constitute a trademark in itself, but the Court annulled the decision, adhering to Bang & Olufsen's arguments.

The loudspeaker, which is shaped like a high, pencil-like cone, is 'truly specific' and can thus be registered as a trade mark, the court said in its ruling earlier today.

RB Boersen news agency said, citing Bang & Olufsen's chief legal officer Kim Bo Hansen, that the decision is important as it will make it easier for the group to protect its designs against piracy.

Bang & Olufsen will now decide on whether to register other products as trade marks, Hansen said.

gustav.sandstrom@thomson.com gs/am

http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=51178830601956