Zappanale dispute and Lacoste writing to the police

German magazine Der Stern reports on the next round in the ongoing dispute between the Zappa Family Trust and fans of cult musician Frank Zappa over the use of the word mark ZAPPA, registered as a Community trade mark.

The Trust has been trying to prevent the Zappanale, an annual music festival organised of Zappa fans that involves many uses of the Zappa name and image - on the basis of that registered Community mark. However, it transpired that the Trust had only used the word "Zappa" as part of the "official" Zappa website URL, which was operated from the US. Reversing a decision of the Regional Court of Düsseldorf, the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf (20 U 48/09) held that this use did not amount to genuine use of the trade mark (Article 15(1) CTMR). The court nonetheless stressed that use of a mark in a domain name as such may be sufficient for constituting genuine use - just not in this case because the public would consider the use of the word Zappa as a general descriptive reference and would not understand it as a reference to the trade mark owner.

For an in-depth analysis of this case, this Kat recommends Guido Westkamp’s current intelligence note published in JIPLP: “Personality trade marks and their limits: Frank Zappa Family Trust Inc. v Arf e.V.”


According to the latest Stern report, the Higher Regional Court had also held that the Zappanale music festival could still be held and that the Zappanale organizers were allowed to use the word mark Zappa, run their own Zappanale website and sell Zappanale merchandise. Finally, the Higher Regional Court ruled that no further appeal in this matter was allowed. Undeterred, Frank Zappa’s widow, Gail Zappa, who had sought damages from the Zappanale organisers, which the court had also denied, took the matter to the German Federal Supreme Court filing an appeal against the Higher Regional Court’s denial of leave to appeal. The German Federal Supreme Court agreed with Mrs Zappa, even though Der Stern did not report on the reasons given by the court. All we now for now is that the legal dispute surrounding the Zappanale will continue.


And now for something very different: eagle eyed IPKat readers already noticed in July (see the IPKat report here) that Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik had been portrayed in several mass circulation publications wearing a garment bearing the Lacoste crocodile. The BBC now reports that Lacoste appears to have taken the unusual step to ask the Norwegian police to prevent mass killer Anders Breivik wearing the brand in court after he allegedly even claimed Lacoste was his favourite brand... not the kind of endorsement any brand owner would wish for.

Sponsorship, brand damage and leverage: when there are no winners

The IPKat has often pondered a problem concerning brand sponsorship which arises when the brand, far from being enhanced by its sponsorship of an event, a sports team or indeed anything else, faces damage though its enhanced exposure.  This issue exercised him recently in the context of two of the sponsors of football's World Cup expressing their substantial distress at the allegations of corruption at the highest level of the sport's governing body Fifa -- allegations of which it seemed that everyone except the sponsors was aware (see earlier post here).  The same issue, sadly involving the same sport but a very different set of circumstances, has arisen today, as the Sky report, "Football Club Suspends Sex Offender Player", makes plain.

In short, Scottish Premier League footballer Craig Thomson pleaded guilty earlier this month to charges of "lewd, libidinous and indecent behaviour" towards two under-age girls. Edinburgh-based football club Heart of Midlothian initially said it would stand by the player, saying there was "no reason for Craig Thomson not to continue his career as a professional footballer". But today Hearts issued a statement to the effect that it has suspended him with immediate effect, adding "No further comment will be made by the club."

Calls by charitable and other organisations for Thomson to be dismissed were initially ignored, but it seems that the trigger for the player's suspension may have been the decision of one of its sponsors, MacB Water.  The company expressed disappointment in Hearts' earlier stance and then withdrew its support as official water sponsor, a deal worth more than £5,000.

Says the IPKat, this sort of situation is one in which there can be no real winners.  Criminal offences against under-aged children cannot be tolerated in any civilised society; children deserve protection and those who exploit and violate them deserve their punishment.  Yet Thomson,at 20, is little more than a child himself and has lifetime ahead of him in which his public shame and criminal record is likely to blight the rest of his adult life. He has also in probability lost the chance to pursue the career of his choice.  MacB Water is obviously entitled to take all reasonable steps to protect the integrity of its trading brand, which means that Hearts is left with a hole in its income through no real fault of its own and its sponsor must re-cast its marketing and promotion plans mid-campaign.  Merpel adds, what a pity Thomson didn't opt for adultery.  This apparently does nothing to damage the image of the sponsored brand -- and may even enhance it -- and presumably doesn't affect the exemplary position of the footballer as a role model for today's youth.

How sponsor Tag Heuer profited from Tiger Woods' off-course activities here 
Carlsberg beer's latest deal to use wanderers Wayne Rooney and John Terry here.