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After lengthy litigation over trademark similarity, the well-known owners of Gucci and Guess, they managed to reach an agreement among themselves.
The first legal dispute between the two trademarks began in 2009 in New York, the cause being the Italian brand's intertwined G-logo. Gucci, which appears on some of the American brand's shoe models GuessThis dispute ended in success for the luxury Italian brand, which received compensation of $4.7 million.
Source: rosst400, Canva
What is trademark monitoring?
The reason for this dispute is unfair competition and trademark infringement. Once a trademark meets the legal requirements and is registered, the next important stage comes – trademark surveillance, so-called monitoring. This is a period in which the trademark owner must monitor newly filed registration applications to see if they infringe his rights, because the relevant office where the trademark is registered does not monitor this ex officio. In the example given above, if the Italian brand Gucci had it not been interested in competitors appearing on the market, it would probably have suffered much greater damage, expressed in the copying of numerous products, accompanied by serious financial losses.
Why is monitoring necessary?
Monitoring is a timely means of protecting your rights arising from your ownership of a trademark.
The purpose of monitoring is to identify similar or identical marks to yours that have the potential to mislead consumers that yours and a mark similar to yours are the same. This is precisely the purpose of the 3-month opposition period that must expire before your trademark can be registered. During this period, a holder of an earlier trademark application who believes that his rights are being threatened can challenge your trademark application. However, this period would have no practical application if there were no monthly review of the trademarks filed for registration.
To avoid the potential risk that your competitors will benefit from your trademark reputation by using a similar trademark and subsequently even registering it, it is extremely important to monitor newly filed trademark registration applications.
There are many benefits of monitoring, but some of the most significant are:
Our team can offer you a detailed check on a monthly basis, which is in line with all legal grounds and principles. At the end of each month, you will receive a detailed report, which will contain information on the presence of similar trademarks, as well as the degree of risk of conflict between the brands. Contact us for more information and protect your trademark.
