A trademark dispute has led to a fight with the Trademarks Office (TMO). The owner of the “Dr Toy” trademark took legal action against another business called 'D Toy' Details are not clear from the reports, possibly there was a trademark calncellation action, and a criminal complaint of infringement was made to the police. The TMO was called to give evidence in the criminal action.
However the TMO opinion of no similarity in the criminal case conflicted with a previous written opinion issued by the TMO that the two marks were not similar. It is thought that this first opinion was provided to D Toy. Written opinions are sometimes obtained for use against other parties. The procedure is informal and while not entirely transparent reasonably common and quite useful (given how hard enforcement is). But now having found the TMO has changed it's mind, or a different department has made a different decision, the owner of D Toy is now suing the TMO claiming damages of 1 Billion rupiah (USD120,000).
As a result the TMO has stopped issuing any opinions at all!
However the TMO opinion of no similarity in the criminal case conflicted with a previous written opinion issued by the TMO that the two marks were not similar. It is thought that this first opinion was provided to D Toy. Written opinions are sometimes obtained for use against other parties. The procedure is informal and while not entirely transparent reasonably common and quite useful (given how hard enforcement is). But now having found the TMO has changed it's mind, or a different department has made a different decision, the owner of D Toy is now suing the TMO claiming damages of 1 Billion rupiah (USD120,000).
As a result the TMO has stopped issuing any opinions at all!
No comments:
Post a Comment