February 2005
The Tigers defend their trade mark jungle with primal force
A legal cat fight took place between Kelloggs, the makers of Frosties cereal and Esso, the giant petrol firm. Exxon, Esso's parent company applied to register their new tiger character as a trade mark to represent their chain of Tigermarket shops but the cereal firm claimed that the logo was too similar to their Tony the tiger, who has been leading the pack since the 1950s for not just cereals, but also for toys and computer games. The judge admitted that the cartoon tigers were very similar, even in the stance adopted by each but was still of the opinion that for the consumer, there was no real connection between the services of the two. The two tigers tried to defend themselves in the trade mark jungle with primal force, but the battle was lost by Tony. Both tigers had appeared some time ago for identity branding purposes, Tony the Tiger, in 1952, the Esso Tiger, in 1964.
BRIFFA Comment:
The case rested very much on the fact that the goods or services of the respective parties were dissimilar and there was therefore little likelihood of consumer confusion. For a sign to be valid, it must be "capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of others." This goes to the heart of trade mark law. The case offers us two illustrative examples of where identities for brand image and brand personality are all important. It is an example of ferocious branding, which today goes beyond a name. To invest in a visual design which consists of a single identifier or a combination of identifiers such as, language, symbols, colours, flagship products and other identifying reminders, serves to shape the way in which a brand's sphere of business is recalled by our senses. The power of a well-designed identity system, which is capable of conveying multiple messages and associations, is difficult to over-estimate. As with the tiger warriors, no manufacturer's branding strategy is secure from the possibility of a lookalike invasion. This is important for a number of reasons, especially as a high level banner brand can be designed to connect up much of a company's goodwill.