Full Beam: the Riobrand diary

London: 15 May 2002

• Wrestlers throw in the towel
• ICANN warns of new scam
• Nice try!
• Graceland seeks to round up the Elvis Ranch
• A model case
• It's in the bag...
• Worth a flutter?
• Fooling around
• Party line
• Blue is this season's fashion
• ...and finally
  

Wrestlers throw in the towel

The long-running bout between the World Wrestling Federation and the World Wildlife Fund appears to have reached the final bell. The wrestlers have decided to change their name to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc and have now acquired the domain name 'wwe.com' to use for their lucrative on-line trading activity.

The grudge match, which dated back to 1989, last came before the courts in February when the UK Court of Appeal upheld the first instance decision of Jacob J that the wrestlers were in breach of a 1994 settlement agreement. Now the wrestlers are putting on a brave face and are advertising the name change with the slogan "Get The 'F' Out".

ICANN warns of new scam

ICANN is warning that many domain name owners have received false notices alleging that an action has been brought against them under the Uniform Domain Resolution Policy. The deceptive mailings are being sent by an organisation called 'Xchange Dispute Resolution' and they inform registrants that they must mail a 'security deposit fee' to defend their ownership of the domain name.

The notices state that the deposits -which have varied from $250 to $1250- will be returned at the end of the process regardless of the outcome. Full details, including a sample of the notices, can be found at:
http://www.icann.org/announcements/advisory-08apr02.htm
http://www.icann.org/announcements/advisory-exh-08apr02.htm

Nice try!

The High Court in London has dealt another blow to the lucrative merchandising activities of sports clubs and associations by holding that Cotton Traders Ltd rugby shirts bearing the red rose symbol of the national team did not infringe the rights of the Rugby Football Union. The court went on to cancel the RFU's Community Trade Mark registration.

The decision comes hot on the heels of a decision in which the court refused Arsenal's claim against a seller of unauthorised merchandise and held that the marks were merely being used as 'badges of allegiance'. However to assist it in finally deciding that case the UK court referred questions to the European Court of Justice. On 14 May the ECJ heard the case, raising hopes that their guidance will soon be forthcoming to help sports teams understand how far they will be able to protect this important source of revenue.

Graceland seeks to round up the Elvis Ranch

The estate of Elvis Presley is seeking to prevent a new resort park, being built only 8 miles away from Graceland, from using the late singer's name. 'The King' once owned the property upon which a property developer plans to construct the new Elvis Presley Ranch featuring shops, wedding chapels, golf courses and other entertainments.

However the Trust, presided over by Priscilla Presley, says that this does not give any right to use terms such as 'Elvis', 'Presley' and 'Graceland', all of which they claim are trademarks. Negotiations have so far failed to settle the dispute so it may yet end up in court.

A model case

United Parcel Service (UPS) are not flattered by the sale of an 'anatomically detailed' male doll which features a brown uniform bearing a shield logo, both of which they claim closely resemble their own trade marks. They are threatening legal action for infringement against Beproud.com, the on-line trader selling the dolls which have achieved cult status amongst the gay community on the US West Coast.

The dolls have proven to be a great success and the sellers have a long waiting list of potential customers who are hoping that further supplies will be forthcoming. Meanwhile, demand for the dolls which originally sold for $45.95 is so strong that the few examples being re-sold through internet auction sites are fetching prices in excess of $400.

It's in the bag...

There has been an encouraging development in relation to registration of three-dimensional shapes as Community Trade Marks. Unilever's application to register a pyramidal tea bag as a CTM has been approved by OHIM's Third Board of Appeal, who held that an Examiner's claim that the additional space provided within such a tea bag was functional was unsubstantiated.

The Board stated that the Examiner's opinions were subjective and were not supported by any evidence. They went on to hold that the fact that the consumer attaches a functional value to a specific characteristic of this shape does "per se not impede that the consumer, at the same time, associates the product (because of its distinctive features, i.e. the shape) with a particular source". The application has been referred back to the Examiner in order that its processing may continue.

Worth a flutter?

Scientists attempting to produce the first genetically-modified butterfly are claiming that their research will result in them being able to control the markings appearing on the insects' wings. A paper published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution suggests that in future companies may even be able to superimpose their logos on the insects' wings, providing them with a novel promotional medium that would certainly be highly controversial.

Fooling around

In March the on-line personal finance business, Motley Fool, overlooked to renew their primary domain name 'fool.co.uk'. They discovered the problem when their website become inaccessible but fortunately they were able to quickly remedy the oversight. It can happen to the best of businesses but it sometimes has far more painful and expensive results, so remember to diarise those renewal dates carefully.

Party line

British company Amersham recently celebrated its 20th anniversary with a dinner and its chief executive Sir William Castell told a tale from the company's early days. It seems he arrived at one function to deliver an after dinner speech when, much to his horror, he discovered that they thought they were about to hear from the head of Amnesty International. Evidence of confusing similarity?

Blue is this season's fashion

Heinz are already test marketing blue-coloured potato chips (French fries). Hot on their heels come Pepsi who are now carrying their primary can colour through to the product by launching a new blueberry-flavoured cola in an appropriate shade. The company is unconcerned by cheap jibes that liken the product's appearance to anti-freeze and are convinced that such innovations are the way forward, citing as an example the lemon-flavoured Pepsi Twist -launched last November in the US and already a success.

…and finally

Any sensitive souls from branding consultancies should look away now, as we bring news of two budget conscious companies who have created new corporate brands for themselves and a third who have revealed the home-grown source of theirs.

Firstly, insurance company CGNU decided it was time for a new and more inspirational name so it embarked upon a Do-It-Yourself job and ended up selecting Aviva. However, the move has attracted some criticism: many other businesses have already used the same name, including the foods division of Novartis who adopted it for their unfortunate venture into genetically-modified crops but dropped it in September 2000, less than a year after its launch. Also, some of the insurer's shareholders criticised the decision at the recent AGM, before the majority voted to adopt it. One shareholder said the new name sounded like that of a bus company (a reference to Arriva), another (disappointed by the company's performance) suggested 'Caveat Emptor' might be more suitable if the Board wanted a Latin name and yet another said 'Judas' would be a better name, as he felt betrayed.

Chorion, which is in the process of floating off its city bars business, has continued its cost-effective approach to naming and appears to be enjoying better fortune for the new brand which it has chosen. According to a report in The Times, the name Chorion was itself found in a medical dictionary, purchased by the company at a cost of £12.99. Incredibly the company have managed to slash even this modest budget for the divested business having found its new name, Urbium, in a Latin dictionary which cost them a mere £4.99.

Corin, a business which markets medical devices, found an even easier way to name itself. The company is based in Cirencester, England and simply decided to abbreviate the old Roman name for the city: 'Corinium'.

The old saying that that all roads lead to Rome might be supplemented by the thought that all naming projects lead to Latin…

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