Date   : Sat, 25 Jul 2009 10:49:51 +0100
From   : darren.grant@... (Darren Grant)
Subject: A new Element 14

On 25/07/2009 10:26, "Rick Murray" <rick@...> wrote:

> 
> Is the new Acorn trying to pass itself off on the original? Sure, okay,
> there is a company called Acorn Computers - but being a shifter of PC
> based laptops by the initial look of things, it has about as much
> relevance to the original brand as the bloke's website that was
> 'claimed'. Isn't something a little bit dodgy going on here?
> 
I'm afraid legally they are doing nothing wrong, it is all above board and
correct. The Acorn trademark is just a trademark and can be used for any
purpose providing it falls within the registration group. Acorn would have
originally registered the trademark and when they went out of business the
trademark was an asset to be sold in the same way as their intellectual
property rights. The trademark was sold to a company who has given this new
PC company the right to use the trademark in return for a fee. It doesn't
matter that the new company has nothing to do with the original, in fact
most well known names have nothing to do with the original.

If BMW were to shut down there would be nothing stopping me from starting a
company called BMW providing I could obtain the rights to use the trademark
or the trademark was allowed to expire and I registered a new one.

A good example of using a trademark is Wharfdale, it used to be a company
that had a reputation for making good quality loudspeakers. But at some
point the company found itself in difficulty so the trademark was sold to
another company that now licenses Argos to use the name on electrical
equipment. So Argos now simply find a cheap cordless phone, DVD player or
whatever from China and have the Wharfdale name put on it so that people
will be more likely to have confidence in buying it than the original 'Ying
Ho Fun' or Argos own brand as it is perceived by consumers as a trusted
brand. Completely legal but morally questionable.