3. Who does the protection of trademarks serve?
Protection of trademarks ultimately serves everyone who comes into contact with trademarks, as it is intended to ensure that the trademark is a unique identification. That means above all:
Protection of trademarks ultimately serves everyone who comes into contact with trademarks, as it is intended to ensure that the trademark is a unique identification. That means above all:
- Consumers, who obtain a secure indication as to the origin, quality and benefits of a product.
- The trademark holder, which can be sure that investment in its trademark will also benefit its product and the associated commercial success.
4. When does a logo or product infringe trademark protection?
There is no definite answer to this question.The issue of whether an infringement has taken place depends on the following basic questions:
How similar is the name or trademark label in question?
How similar is the product to those which JACK WOLFSKIN sells?
Is the perception of our brand being exploited or damaged?
We are committed to ensuring that it always depends on the assessment of each individual case.
5. How does JACK WOLFSKIN proceed against trademark infringements?
It is in our interest that our trademark is protected in the long term. The procedure by which the trademark is protected depends on laws and current jurisdiction. In principle we are obliged to pursue cases of misuse and danger of confusion in order to protect the brand on a long term basis. However, infringements of our trademarks does not take place automatically, but is always initiated directly by us. We are careful to proceed with a sense of proportion.
The necessary procedure in the case of professional product counterfeiting is indisputable. It becomes more difficult when it relates to small-scale trading e.g. on the internet market. In these cases we have decided that after our own assessment of the situation we always initially establish contact with the seller ourselves.
Our procedure is as follows:
- In the case of trademark infringements by businesses, after careful assessment and, if necessary, with legal assistance, we react quickly to suppress this.
- The same applies particularly in cases of the manufacture or sale of counterfeit products (forgeries).
- In the case of trademark disputes with small-scale vendors, we first assess whether or not a sale has taken place in the marketplace which infringes our trademark rights. If that is the case, we first make contact with the vendor and advise them of the trademark conflict. We request a statement and, if necessary, discontinuation.
A dialogue process ensues in order to establish a better understanding. If an agreement can be reached by these means, costs can be avoided as far as possible. Legal assistance is only the final step, when an agreement cannot be reached.
- JACK WOLFSKIN controls all these processes itself. There is no general mandate to lawyers or warning associations to look for infringements and issue warnings without consultation. One person in the company is responsible for all trademark rights enquiries. This person reports directly to the management.