Cartier objects to the council’s attempted trademark registration for LoveGold
Cartier and World Gold Council in “love” fight
Posted February 04, 2014 | By Jonathan Green
Another trademark battle looms in the jewellery world, with iconic
French brand Cartier filing a suit against the World Gold Council.
The complaint refers to the World Gold Council’s (WGC) attempts to register LoveGold as an official trademark. Cartier filed an official challenge to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board on the basis that it conflicted with its famed “Love” collection of bracelets, rings, necklaces and earrings.
In the filing, Cartier said it “believes it will be damaged by the issuance of a registration for the marks LoveGold,” and that it has, “used the mark ‘Love’ and variations thereof in connection with jewellery since at least as early as 1970.”
The council’s LoveGold campaign was designed to raise awareness about contemporary gold jewellery and entice young buyers.
Cartier is said to only object to the council’s attempted trademark registration for LoveGold and not the use of the term for the campaign.
At this stage, WGC is yet to submit a reply; however, a lawyer representing them reportedly told US-based industry magazine JCK that, “Cartier and WGC are in discussion regarding this issue, and hope to soon amicably resolve their differences.”
Growing trend
Trademark disputes have become commonplace in the jewellery industry in recent years.
As previously reported by Jeweller, Tiffany & Co is locked in a long-running battle with Costco over the giant warehouse chain’s use of the word “Tiffany” in its labelling and advertising.
The most recent dispute has seen Tiffany & Co attempt to dismiss a claim from Costco that “tiffany setting” is a generic term. While Judge Laura Taylor Swain did rule that “tiffany setting” is a generic term, she declared that there was a “genuine factual dispute” over its use and so the legal battles would continue.
Equally, Swatch Group and Belgian manufacturer Ice-Watch have recently come to an agreement that put an end to a dispute lasting almost eight years. The battle regarded “phonetic confusion”, on the basis that the name Ice-Watch could conceivably be misheard by a potential customer as I-Swatch or even Ice-Swatch. Details of the settlement remain confidential.
Lovegold Campaign Preview
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