From jeans to baseball teams, the AFL has an interesting history of battling for trademarks but the fight for the Devils might be the most intriguing of all, writes Cody Atkinson and Sean Lawson.
Delene Bertasso
is a senior associate in law firm ENSafrica’s Intellectual Property (IP) department, and is a qualified trade mark practitioner.
The South African Supreme Court of Appeal recently considered the claim of “passing off” in Koni Multinational Brands v Beiersdorf AG. The case concerned shower/bath products and the well-known brand Nivea, which is owned by the German company Beiersdorf.
So, what came out in the wash?
Nivea has been keeping us clean for some time. Beiersdorf commenced business in 1882 and the company’s brand, Nivea, was first adopted in 1911. The get-up for Nivea products has featured the colour combination blue and white (white font on a blue background) since 1925; the product Nivea Men has been around since 1986, and in 2008 there was a revamp of the get-up with the addition of the colour silver.