GBC takes action again, ordinary words can also lead to infringement

Recently, the famous clothing company Ralph Lauren commissioned the law firm GBC to file an infringement lawsuit, with the case number 21-cv-5969.

When talking about Ralph Lauren, the most eye-catching thing is the company's POLO shirt. POLO means polo in English. The POLO shirt launched by Ralph Lauren uses the aristocratic polo sports logo as its brand logo. It not only highlights American leisure, but also brings the elegance of classical aristocracy into the design, becoming one of the most popular items in the world.

I believe everyone is familiar with this polo player pattern, but it should be noted that this pattern has been successfully registered as a trademark by Ralph Lauren. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the registration number of this trademark is 4558683.

In addition, in the United States, the word "POLO" has also been registered as a word trademark by the company with registration number 5512126.

At present, Ralph Lauren has registered corresponding trademarks for the brand in major categories such as clothing, shoes and hats, advertising and sales, daily chemical products, leather goods, construction and repair, education and entertainment, accommodation and catering , etc., covering a wide range and is still expanding.

While registering trademarks, Ralph Lauren is also fighting against infringements. According to incomplete statistics, Ralph Lauren has filed five infringement lawsuits in the past two years. Judging from the list of defendants in the past, the law firm's evidence collection scope includes online sales platforms such as Amazon, AliExpress, Wish, eBay, and independent websites.

Currently, searching for POLO on various platforms will reveal a large number of products, especially POLO shirts. It can be said that POLO shirts have basically become synonymous with lapel shirts, but since the relevant trademarks have been registered, sellers still need to be cautious. In addition, many people will print the polo logo on handbags, hats, clothes and other products, which also poses a risk of infringement.

According to a report by the Center for China and Globalization in April, the most popular category for global cross-border purchases in 2018 was clothing, followed by electronics and toys. Many sellers will enter the clothing field. However, there are actually many infringement risks in clothing, for example, if the clothing is printed with works related to bands and artists.

Recently, I have published a lot of cases of bands defending their rights, some of which involve clothing. Since the band's logo is very powerful, many sellers will print these elements on clothing. And it is difficult to associate a common word like "Green Day" with a band registering it as a trademark.

Therefore, sellers still need to pay more attention and do a good investigation when selecting products.

Infringement

GBC