October 2005
Will it be a "Tanned" behind for St Tropez solarium in Sunny Manchester?
It has recently been in the news that fake tan giants St Tropez may be issuing proceedings against the owner of a small tanning salon in Manchester.
Yvonne Cookson (perhaps ill advisedly having not consulted Briffa!) decided to call her business "Tan St Tropez". Whilst it is not yet clear whether the matter will be defended it is likely that St Tropez would have a good case as they are owners of several registered trade marks for identical or similar goods, including at least six UK or European trade mark applications or registrations incorporating the words St Tropez.
As Ms Cookson has stated she does not have the assets to defend any action it is likely that she will be looking at the cost and delay of a rebrand. Equally for a small business maybe the saying "no publicity is bad publicity" and as a result a small tanning salon in a Manchester suburb has attracted nationwide publicity.
BRIFFA Comment:
In order for something to be a trade mark infringement it must be one of several things:
Either:
An identical mark for identical goods
e.g. St Tropez for tanning products
An identical mark for similar goods
e.g. St Tropez for cosmetics
A similar mark for identical goods
e.g. Tan St Tropez for tanning products
A similar mark for similar goods
e.g. Tan St Tropez for cosmetics
In a situation where a mark is famous, for example Cocoa Cola, the goods can be very different from those registered to Coca Cola (e.g. Coca Cola for car tyres) but still be deemed to be an infringement on the strength of reputation in the famous mark.
No matter the size of your business it is always important to ensure you carry out some level of clearance on your proposed brand before spending time and money implementing and promoting it. Clearance can be carried out very cheaply in comparison with an impending trade mark action against your new business.