Tid-bits from the IP World
Date Posted: 18 August 2009
April of this year, Sainsbury’s released the drink ‘Pitchers’; a drink released ready for the big summer events such as Wimbledon, Ascot and Henley, recommending it be drunk with lemonade and fruit. Diageo’s ‘Pimm’s No 1’ is also traditionally served with lemonade and fruit, and regarded as a ‘toffs’ drink, an image it has played on and used to its advantage in a recent push of the brand over the last few years.
Further still, ‘Pitchers’ comes in a bottle that is a very similar shape, the name is in a similar black type font, and both labels are topped by a gold emblem.
As this case evolves, there are echoes of the 1997 case involving Asda ‘Puffin’ chocolate biscuits and United Biscuits ‘Penguin’ chocolate biscuits. ‘Puffin’ biscuits used prominent black lettering with an image of a puffin, whereas the well established ‘Penguin’ biscuit uses prominent black lettering with an image of a penguin. United Biscuits successfully won a claim for ‘passing-off’; the judge recognising the growth and competition presented in own brand products.
Passing-off is a flexible area of law and it will be interesting to see how this case develops, especially seeing as Sainsbury is one of Diageo’s largest customers....
Meanwhile, Everton Football Club’s recent pre season shirt reveal should bring home the importance of Intellectual Property, identifying it and protecting it. Everton perform part of the ‘Haka’, a traditional Maori dance that, since February this year, has been identified as IP vested in the Ngati Toa tribe.
Maui Solomon, the tribal IP lawyer has called the use of the ‘Haka’ insulting and culturally insensitive. He has stated that he will be contacting the club to discuss going forward.
Many would not have thought that a dance such as this was the ‘property’ of anyone. However, IP can and will be a significant part of everyone’s day to day lives and are much more far . For instance, the publishing rights in song ‘Happy Birthday’, a song originally written by two sisters from Kentucky in 1893, are owned by AOL Time Warner. Every time you hear the song in a film, royalties get paid to two charities set up by those sisters. Check the credits next time you hear it in a film!