Hummel vs.Hummels: Legal buzz about sneakers

Cathy Hummels, wife of German soccer player Mats Hummels, has designed sneakers featuring the brand name "Hummels" in clear lettering. She presented her shoe collection in June 2018 in Munich, Germany.

It did not take long for the Danish sports brand Hummel (based in Aarhus, Denmark) to file a request for a temporary junction at the District Court in Hamburg. The Danish company wants to prevent her from marketing her own line of footwear (including sneakers) under the brand name “Hummels” since it infringes on its Hummel brand name.

The District Court in Hamburg has granted the temporary injunction, stating that "The brand name used by Cathy Hummels consists of seven letters, of which six are identical to those of the Danish sports brand name."

Cathy Hummels wants to take legal action against the injunction. Her lawyer Christian-Oliver Moser went on record stating: "The District Court made its decision without hearing Mrs. Hummels." That’s why he considers the claims made by the sportswear company Hummel unfounded, also since the court cannot prohibit Cathy Hummels from using her own last name.

It was not the first time that Cathy Hummels got into legal trouble. She was at the receiving end of a civil litigation. The German Social Media Competition Association (VSW) obtained a preliminary injunction against Mrs. Hummels for violating the VSW’s rules regarding advertising. 

As an Instagram influencer, she endorsed products without making it clear to her 342,000 followers that she was advertising those products. The lawyers of Hummels are fighting the injunction, willing to take it all the way to the German Federal Court citing “freedom of expression”. If that would be the case, it would write influence marketing history.

Moral of the story: Conduct your due diligence before you launch your brand.

Image hummelsport.de

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What’s in a shoe? Adidas can protect the stripes on its shoes

The sportswear company Adidas has scored a victory in over its competitor in the European Court regarding its trademark stripes on the side of its sports shoes. The court rules that using the stripe would infringe on the IP of Adidas. The court upheld the rulings of the European Intellectual Property Office dismissed actions brought by Shoe Branding Europe (Cases T-85/16 and T-629/16).

Shoe Branding Europe is a Belgian company that turned to the EU IP Office to have the two stripes on its shoes protected. It claimed that the horizontal stripes in its design run from the sole towards the ankle and not (as in case of Adidas) towards the toe. The company also pointed out that its shoes featured two stripes and not three as Adidas shoes do.

However, since the similarity between the two brands was just too similar, the Court sided with Adidas and refused to register Shoe Branding Europe’s trademark registration. The similarly between the two designs was just too much and would confuse consumers. In addition, the Court considered that it would be likely that that Shoe Branding Europe unfairly exploited the reputation of the Adidas brand. It therefore ruled that there were no grounds to grant registration of the trademark requested by Shoe Branding Europe.

What do you think? How important are those stripes to you when you buy new sports shoes? Feel free to put in your two cents!

Donkey Business - When Vitus the Donkey Met An Orange DeLorean Car

Vitus the Donkey nibbled on an orange DeLorean causing damage that accumulated to Euro 5,800.

Since the value of the car is Euro 310,000 - the owner was Not Amused and wanted to be compensated for the damage. Not unreasonable, since the donkey took a bite through the fence of his firmly locked pasture.

The owner of the DeLorean, Markus Zahn (owner of Weinhaus Zahn), first asked the owner of the nibbling donkey to reimburse him for the damage. Please note: he only asked for the reimbursement of the material damage, not for any additional damages. The owner of the donkey refused, so (to the surprise of Mr. Zahn), it ended up in court. The Vitus owner’s defense: Mr. Zahn was stupid to park his expensive car that close to the fence. In other words: his fault.

The District Court of Gießen ruled that Vitus, the nibbling donkey, did indeed bite the car twice in September 2016 through the fence, resulting in damages of Euro 5,800 Euro. Since the fence was obviously not equipped to contain the appetite of Vitus the Donkey, his owner is therefore liable. Hence, the owner has to pay, even if Vitus might have taken the orange luxury car for a juicy carrot…

For the animal lovers among the readers: Vitus is currently owned by a lovely lady who takes the nibbling obsession of Vitus with humor. “Yes, he nibbles on everything, as you can see on the fences here.”

The owner of the DeLorean does not have any hard feelings regarding the donkey, and even petted him despite the fact that Vitus never apologized to him…

Needless to say, Vitus became a media star, in my humble opinion with more reason than the whole Kardashian clan thrown together…

Image courtesy of ©Markus Zahn, picture-alliance/dpa

Tip Top Lawyer wishes you and your family Happy New Year

Canada Prohibits SIM Locks - Good News For Consumers

Starting December 1, 2017, Canadian mobile phone providers are only allowed to sell devices without SIM locks. Mobile phones, mobile modems, tablets and the like must be able to operate with all compatible SIM cards.

The CRTC, the Canadian telecom regulator o, has this on Thursday (CRTC 2017-200). With the SIM lock ban, the Canadian government wants to increase competition between mobile phone providers. Currently, there are only a few providers which caused high tariffs for consumers, especially when compared to other countries.

The CRTC 2017-200 also stipulates that mobile devices that have currently a SIM lock, must be unlocked by the mobile phone provider free of charge. The new rules will benefit consumers as well as small businesses that want to unlock. When it comes to large enterprises, mobile phone providers can still negotiate SIM locks.

Previously, some mobile phone providers have refused to unlock mobile devices that were purchased by customers for other phone networks. Since 2013, the Canadian mobile operators were obliged to remove SIM locks at the customer's request. However, they would charge a free of around 50 Canadian dollars (about 34 euros) for the unlock codes. It is estimated that the providers cashed in a total of almost 38 million Canadian dollars (around 25 million euros) in 2016. At the end of 2017, this revenue source will dry up.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also rejected imposing a tax on broadband Internet access. The Standing Committee of Canadian Heritage of the Canadian Parliament had proposed a tax of five percent. The idea was to use the revenue to subsidize Canadian TV and video game productions.

Although the charge on cable TV connections has been abolished, the number of subscribers is decreasing. Trudeau is nevertheless against an Internet tax and justified his rejection with keeping the election promise of his Liberal Party to relieve the financial burden of low and middle income earners.

Streaming Without Borders - Europeans Can Take Their Movie and Music Streaming Subscription Abroad

The European Parliament has just passed a new regulation that allows subscribers of Netflix, Spotify, Deezer or another online service to stream abroad. They can enjoy their favorite movies, TV shows, music, or games wherever they go within the EU. Currently, subscribers trying to stream abroad get a “content not available” message.

Starting 2018, subscribers can enjoy their paid for services abroad, regardless if they stay abroad for work, study, or vacation. In case of free services, providers can decide if their content will be available abroad; they are exempt from the new regulation.

The regulation tries to bring clarity in the scope of digital rights which has become complicated due to the rise of the use of mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.). Subscribers want to enjoy content everywhere, not just in their own country. According the data of the European Commission, about half of the internet users, watch movies, listen to music and play games online. This number is expected to increase, since roaming costs inside the EU will abolished starting July 15, 2017.

The new regulation is part of the EU’s Digital Single Market strategy (DSM). According to the European Commission, geo-blocking and other geographically-based restrictions also undermine online shopping and cross-border sales.