October 2008
Absolute Radio becomes an Absolut Nightmare
The new owners of Virgin radio got themselves into a pickle in Sweden this month when they rebranded the radio station calling it “Absolute Radio”.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Group sold the radio station to the Times of India for £53.2 million in June, however as is the Virgin Group’s policy, the ownership of the “Virgin” mark was retained. This meant that Times of India had to find a new name for the radio station. Unfortunately for them the new name was strikingly similar to another well know brand, Absolut, which is owned by the Swedish vodka producers V&S Vin & Spirit. Further V&S are also involved in a music project under the trade mark “Absolut Tracks” which is likely to cause more difficulties for the new owners.
In issuing proceedings V&S stated:
“The reason for this is that we consider there is a risk of confusion. We have a well known brand and there is an obvious risk of confusion between Absolut vodka and Absolute Radio. We have filed a complaint and now we go into the legal process”.
Another interesting point raised by V&S is the potential damage to their reputation that may be caused if consumers believe they are marketing to a potentially younger audience. A V&S spokeswoman said the following:
"Absolute Radio targets a wider and younger audience than Absolut vodka in different media channels. There is a risk for confusion – consumers may perceive this as undue advertising to young people who are not of legal drinking age, which goes against the efforts of Absolut vodka as a responsible spirits brand."
Meanwhile Times of India are maintaining their position stating that:
"They want us to stop using the Absolute Radio name and they want to cancel the registration of our trade mark because they feel it is too similar to theirs, we think the two are completely different, ours is a music and entertainment brand, theirs is a vodka drinks brand, and we are confident that our listeners recognise the difference between the two, as would Absolut's drinkers".
Briffa’s comment
While V&S appear to have a strong case, a cursory search of the UK and Community Trade Marks Registry reveals 301 trade marks consisting of the word “Absolut” (although these are mostly spelt using the English version “Absolute”). As such if Times of India wish to fight this action then they may claim that the word “absolute” is laudatory since it is commonplace and does not add anything distinctive to the mark. Finally the registration for the “Absolut” trade mark itself does not cover music or radio services, which means the rights may not extend beyond the world of vodka.
However the fact that “Absolut” is a registered trade mark, which has enjoyed a large amount of investment and spending on merchandising, means that they should have built up a sufficient reputation to claim confusion. In addition the existence of the “Absolut Tracks” trade mark that was registered in 2005, means that V&S have registered rights in relation to music. Finally the second part of both trade marks, “Radio” and “Tracks”, may not be sufficiently distinctive to differentiate between the “Absolute Radio” and “Absolute Tracks” trade marks.
All in all it is surprising that Times of India have got themselves into this mess and is a reminder that even large companies can sometimes fail to undertake sufficient planning when re-branding. If Times of India are forced to withdraw their trade mark application, pay damages to V&S and re-brand then the cost may be significant. This is a reminder that proper investigations need to be made before launching any new brand.
For more information contact info@briffa.com