Burberry & LG Fashion, lawsuit on check pattern trademark infringement is finally over!

The so-called ‘checked pattern suit’ between Burberry and LG Fashion is over. 

Seoul Central District Court ended this suit by ruling a compulsory mediation decision.

Last February, Burberry filed a lawsuit against LG Fashion claiming that LG Fashion should not make and sell any shirts pirating Burberry's checked-pattern. Furthermore, Burberry claimed that LG Fashion should pay fifty million KRW as a compensation.

Against this, LG Fashion also considered to file a counter-suit claiming that 

the checked pattern is one of the most popular patterns, 

thus Burberry interrupted their business. 

According to this ruling, LG Fashion paid  Burberry thirty billion won. 

Besides, it became forbidden for LG Fashion to use 

'Burberry's checked pattern trademark rights’ now and for ever.

Based on a compulsory mediation ruling by Central District Court, 

not only LG Fashion should pay thirty million KRW to Burberry, 

but also Burberry should give up the rest of claims as well. 

This is quite interesting point.

LG Fashion seemed to be focusing on the part that Burberry should give up the rest of claims. Burberry did not file any objection on this ruling, 

and gave up requesting prohibition of sales on LG Fashion shirts. 

Also, LG Fashion did not admit that they infringed Burberry's trademark rights.

On the other hand, Burberry interpreted that the meaning of ruling is already a proof of Court acknowledging trademark infringement of LG Fashion.

  

However, industry people regard this lawsuit result as a victory of Burberry. 

The reason is, even though the mediation ruled that 'Burberry should give up the rest of claims' but it does not mean that ‘Burberry should give up rights.’ 

or ‘LG Fashion can use the checked-pattern.’ 

Actually LG Fashion already stopped producing problematic pattern shirts, and this seems to be the reason why Burberry gave up easily requesting prohibition of sale.

<above is Burberry related trademark search result at Kipris.co.kr.>

The reason Burberry's checked pattern can be registered as trademark 

not design is that pattern itself could be recognized as Burberry'. 

As it is trademark, Burberry can keep their rights by renewing it every 10 years.

If other products using similar pattern with Burberry's appear in the future, 

they can claim infringement of trademark again.

Burberry and LG Fashion are taking different stances on this suit result. 

Even though the lawsuit is over, tension between them seems to continue.

Twitter, won a suit against Korean domain!

A person from Korea having a domain ‘www.twitter.co.kr’ lost a suit

 against American Twitter ‘www.twitter.com.’ 

Originally, the suit was filed by Mr.A from Korea 

who protested against a decision about a domain’s cancellation.

Last year, Mr.A received a decision from the Internet Address Dispute Resolution Committee that he should cancel the domain.

In this regard, he said that the relevant site is a travel-associated site. 

In a result, it did not interrupt any SNS activities of American Twitter. 

Also, he claimed that it cannot be a violation of American Twitter’s rights because his domain was registered in 2008 while American Twitter was given a registration of service mark by the Patent and Trademark Office in 2009.

Because of these reasons, he filed a lawsuit against the decision of cancellation.

However, Seoul Central District Court assumed that he would benefit from the domain. In 2009 when American Twitter received a registration of service mark,

it is estimated that he has already about 3180 domains.

At that time, he had to change other domains from WIPO 

as he did not have a right to use those domains.

Department of justice judged that the domain ‘www.twitter.co.kr’ can get profit from people searching for Twitter. The moment Mr.A registered this domain as a service mark, Twitter was worldwide SNS. Therefore, it was inevitable that he recognized Twitter. 

As a consequence, Department of justice made a decision that 

American Twitter has a right to claim the cancellation of the domain.

<above is from 'kipris.or.kr', trademark search result related to Twitter> 

Furthermore, even though ‘www.twitter.co.kr’ seems to be a travel-related site, 

it is just a copy of other travel agency’s site. 

Also, it does not have a corporate registration number and secured payment number. Additionally, there is no evidence if any actual business.

For these reasons, the Court decided that Mr.A cannot have a right to have a domain.

There is no exaggeration that an individual’s right, especially when it comes to a possessive right, should be assured. Nonetheless, if it harms others’ rights, 

there is no guarantee even for possessive rights.

Memorable advertisements!

Today I introduce some memorable advertisements to you! :)

Do you want to go for a jogging with this 'feather-like' running shoes?

I do!

This is Jeep advertisement, emphasizing safety of its own products.

Famous characters from children's story, and other bad characters who put main characters in danger are placed behind the bars.

 So the Little Red Ridinghood, the Snow White, and Pinocchio can go back home safely.

Easy to understand, Funny, and quite memorable ad, isn't it?

Mass storage device is developing real fast recently. 

Newly released mass storage HDD of Seagate shows some definitely distinguishing features, in terms of its storage size and speed.

Brilliantly showing the marketing points through music and movie, 

which can appeal to the most users effectively,

this indeed is a quite witty advertisement.

If you see closely, you can see 'Sure, Yes, Fine'. but they are written in a very small size, so difficult to understand at a single glance.

Students Nova Scotia is representing sexual assault victims' stance through this ad.

In a situation that victim is facing fear and intimidation,

would their small 'sure, yes, fine, okay' be REAL 'sure, yes, fine, okay'?

Students Nova Scotia's memorable public campaign, 

definitely makes us re-think about it.

Creative advertisements! :D

Today I introduce some creative and effectively-delivering-message advertisements to you.

Below ones are the tree/forest conservation campaign advertisement of WWF.

(WWF: World Wide Fund for Nature)

Below advertisements are radio broadcasting station advertisements.

People breathe music, happy faces in their lungs, simple but awesome, isn't it？

Below photos are advertisements of New Zealand Neurological foundation.

Shape of the flower is like a human heart, 

saying a message that true love started from brain, emphasizing brain health.

Above ones are Crime Stoppers' advertisement. 

'Crime stoppers' is a program which enables people to report crime anonymously.

It is intended to minimize the damage of the crime 

by disclosing criminal's personal information as fast as possible.

When you see closely those white lines on the criminal's face, 

you can read crime reports related to criminal.

They made this advertisement's intended meaning clear 

by expressing information text looking like iron grating of prison.

Nike, filed ‘Back to the future Kicks’ patent application _Nike air McFly!

 Do you remember movie ‘Back to the future’? It was released in 1985, one of the most successful movies in that year, and two sequels were produced backed by its popularity. 

Main character Marty McFly and Dr. Brown travel to the future and past, have amazing adventures, 

and their story thrilled many fans all over the world.

In the movie, Dr. Brown who helped Marty’s time travel to the future 2015, 

handed jacket and sneakers to Marty not to be looking suspicious. 

Marty was worried about the size of the sneakers, 

but once Dr. Brown pressed a button, sneakers and jacket changed to fit perfectly for him.

‘Back to the future’ movie director presumably imagined that such a technology would be feasible in 2015, and actually it turns out that Nike is developing self-tying ‘power laces’ in reality. 

Nike’s new sneakers can adjust their laces automatically according to the user’s feet size. 

This mind-blowing sneakers is called ‘Nike air McFly’, named after ‘Back to the future’ movie hero. 

And Nike also filed patent application on this sneakers technology.

In fact, Nike air McFly was released as a special limited edition in 2011, equipped with LED panel and electroluminescent device, but lacked one key feature, self-tying power laces. 

Yet Nike produced only 1,500 replica pairs, fell far short of sneakerheads’ demands, 

all were sold at an exorbitant price. Thus it raised huge amount of money at auction, 

and the proceeds went directly to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, 

dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease.

 * Above picture is from wintelips.com, Korean version of wipsglobal.com.

wintelips provides English->Korean translation service for Korean users.

In US, Nike Air McFly with this futuristic feature ‘power laces’ is to be unveiled in 2015 deliberately to stay true to the movie, once this is out, I am sure that there will be crowds waiting in front of Nike shop. 

Well, at least all fanatics of ‘Back to the future’ will, including myself! :)

Dumb Starbucks!!

In Los Angeles, new pop-up coffee shop opened, and it looks nearly identical  to an usual Starbucks, 

but actually it is not. It is a 'DUMB' Starbucks. 

They parodied Starbucks, logo and trademark of Dumb Starbucks look exactly same with those of Starbucks, only difference is 'DUMB' is prefixed to the title and all menu items. 

For instance; Dumb Iced Vanilla Latte, Dumb Blonde Roast and seasonal Wuppy Duppy Latte. 

'Dumb' is added not only to menus,  for full effect, there are music discs named like 'Dumb Jazz Standards', 'Dumb Taste of Cuba', and etc. 

People were waiting in the queue for hours to get a free coffee, and lines extended out the door as you can see from the above photo. And word of this peculiar coffee shop spread quickly on the SNS. 

It turns out that the person who planned this coffee shop was a american comedian, 'Nathan Fielder', 

who declared that this was to criticize greediness of Starbucks. 

According to the US law, when purpose of the parody is for fair criticism, 

parody can use trademark or logo without the permission of the right holder. 

Nathan  Fielder claimed that Dumb Starbucks is not a violation of intellectual property law, and it satisfied all conditions to be acknowledged as a parody,so no legitimacy problem exists in that.

However,  some people criticized that this is just an another marketing fuss 

intended to attract people's attention. And Starbucks seems quite flustered by this situation,

they stated that this has nothing to do with Starbucks, and even though parody is acceptable, 

but using Starbucks log and trademark without permission is unacceptable, 

warned legal action against Dumb Starbucks.

Legitimate parody VS. illegal trademark infringement, opinions differs among consumers.

At the end, health authorities ordered close down to Dumb Starbucks, but Nathan Fielder, representative of Dumb Starbucks disclosed that Dumb Starbucks will open its 2nd shop in New York, Brooklyn soon.

While the boundaries between parody and trademark violation became vague, 

how Dumb Starbucks will continue its parody, and how Starbucks will react to this, 

whole situation is being watched with keen interest of many people.

  

Simple and Convenient Idea Products! :D

Today we introduce some simple but very convenient idea products to you.

This is a plug-in air freshener for Smartphones. This product can make fragrance such as coffee, lavender, rosemary and strawberry using smartphones. It could be quite useful for the people who want to take a rest or feel blue, and it seems easier to use than usual plug-in fragrance products. 

But it is a bit expensive compared to its function though.

Above product is portable charger using solar heat. It can save electricity generated from solar heat, and can charge electricity once it is connected. This product is equipped with various connection terminal, so it can charge not only smartphones, also many other products as well. Very convenient and eco-friendly, isn’t it?

This is a life belt. Unlike usual life belts, this can be transformed into different shapes, either round or long stick. As you can see from above picture, when many people fell into water, 

round shape tube can save only one person, but long stick shape can save more people. 

This seems like a must-buy product for the big size vessels carrying many people.

<yankodesign.com>

Small idea can make a big difference for ordinary product. 

This box tape has non-adhesive part at the edge, enables putting and removing mundane job so much easier. This brilliant idea product was designed by Park Jin-Young, Park So-Young designers.

Technology patents behind Skating!

2014 Sochi Olympic has started finally with worldwide excitements and expectations. I am sure that many fans awaited this winter festival for long time, and Korean fans are not exceptions.

Speed skating and Short track skating are one of the most popular winter sports in Korea, 

and yesterday Korean player Lee Sang-Hwa won the gold medal in ladies 500M short track 

with Olympic record, whole Korea fans were thrown into sleepless exultation.

Skating in Olympic has speed skating, short track, figure staking, hockey, and many other sports. 

As its types are various, shapes of each skate have all different characteristics as well. 

And of course, patents related to them are plenty too!

Let’s take a look now. :)

<wipsglobal.com, KR patent 2009-0108754>

Above is KR patent, filed in 2009, and granted in 2012. This patent technology is about manufacturing skate blade with stainless material, helps reducing weight and also prevents rusting. This technology enables assembling of skate without welding, increased manufacturing convenience largely.

<wipsglobal.com, KR patent 2011-0038481>

This patent is filed in 2008, granted in 2013, equipped with ankle area buffering enforcement material. External buffering enforcement material is attached in order to prevent leather bending symptom from the power inflicted on ankle area, so this device can prevent ankle from being bent or sprained, 

helps players to enhance their performances.    

<wipsglobal.com, KR patent granted 1106264>

Above is KR patent as well, filed in 2009, granted in 2012. 

This skate can adjust the length of skate blade. Flexible length adjustment or replacement is possible according to the need of user’s height and preference, thus this technology successfully combined convenience and economical advantage together. When skate blade is damaged or gets rusted, 

immediate replacement is possible as well.

<wipsglobal.com, PCT 2009-011586>

Last patent seems complicated a little bit, this technology is on clap skate. 

Clap skate was introduced in 1997 for the first time, and now almost every speed skating players are wearing it. Unlike other ordinary skate in the past, rear part of blade can be separated from the boots. 

This separation enables blade to cling to the ice even when players lift their heels during gliding, 

has effect of reducing friction and increasing the speed, which leads to a better record. 

This patent was originally from Netherland company, 

no surprise that many world top speed skating players are from Netherland!

 

   Many patent technologies are hidden in skating, I guess this is a good reflection of people’s continuous struggle and efforts for faster record. As fast as the world record gets shortened, 

technologies behind it are evolving even faster. :)

Google preparing for Smartphone new technology patent war

Google seems to be in preparation for Patent dispute related to wearable technology.

Google acquired 1,920 patents in US last year, this figure is almost doubled the number of 2012.

<Flickr.com, mariaguimaraes>

Google could not make it to top 10 patent owners in terms of patent volume in 2012,

 however, it is likely to make it in top 10 in 2013, ahead of GE and LG electronics 

which were top 9 and top 10 respectively last year.

<Flickr.com, niallkennedy>

In 2011, Google acquired Motorola with 12.5 billion USD, its acquisition was to prevent patent dispute 

in advance before Android development kick off in earnest. 

By acquiring Motorola, Google can utilize all patents owned by Motorola.

Google is investing actively in new technology development through Motorola, its affiliated company, 

such as smartphone device, wearable device like Google glass, robotics, and etc. 

However, according to experts, direct patent development of Google is to buttress a weak position in the patent war, and economic effect of the merger is quite small compared to the vast amount of investment.   

<Flickr.com, Adam from another planet>

Google is filing more patents as investment for technology development increases. Google seems to be in preparation for patent disputes in smartphone industry, as Samsung VS Apple case shows. If company cannot occupy the advantageous position, it might lead to a bigger loss, 

such as getting sued or paying for tremendous amount of loyalty.

<Flickr.com, prae>

Actually, Google was sued for 42 times last year, which was the 2^nd most after Samsung.

<patentfreedom.com>

Google's chief patent lawyer Allen Lo also mentioned that company had learned from the smartphone litigation and wanted to 'avoid the war' in the new technology markets, 

as fields such as wearable computing device, Google glass and Driverless car technology.

This staking-out-own rights-to-patents is not only happening in Google, 

this symptom is also observed in many multinational companies as well, 

Samsung, Apple, Sony, and other IT companies.

Seems that Samsung VS Apple litigation fluttered the whole industry wildly.