MindArk AB protects its brand name
12 October 2000
Original press release
MindArk
Press Release
MindArk AB Magasinsgatan 3 Göteborg, Sweden Patric Sundström, Communications Tel:+46 31 136 736 Fax +46 31 136 016 press@mindark.com
For your business and technology editors
MindArk AB protects its brand name
Gothenburg, Sweden, October 12, 2000 – MindArk AB, the Internet experience company, has submitted letters to the registration authorities in the EU, Norway, and Switzerland, to protect itself and about a hundred small companies towards overly expansive use of the term “mind” by an Internet consultant.
The term “mind” is a common English word, on its way to also penetrate other languages, which is part of the company name of one hundred Swedish companies. One of these companies tried to monopolize the use of “mind”, which according to MindArk AB may mean that other companies can perhaps in the future not use their own company names as part of their trademarks.
The background to the issue is attempts by a Swedish Internet consultant with global aspirations to register the term “mind” Europe-wide as part of their trademark. This, together with their very visible strategy of building “mind” as part of their trademark could make the use of this term impossible for companies having the term in their company names, according to MindArk AB.
When judging rights to trade marks, one important factor is the use of it: if a trademark has been used consistently over a long time period, it will normally be protected. It is obviously easier for a large international company than for a small local company to make its trademark known. Registration is one way, but one which does not overrule the benefit of use.
“Name and trademark issues are difficult for the registration authorities, which recent cases show. The issue is often the use of a name in different lines of business. But then it is a dispute around a name: what we are talking about is the monopolization of a general term”, says Jan Welter, managing director of MindArk.
Already the registration of the name “mind” alone for the Internet consulting company was a “border line case”, according to MindArk AB. However, as this was only the company name, this was not seen as a major issue. As the company now however uses the name without the “AB” (Swedish for AktieBolag = limited liability company), the situation is different. MindArk AB has applied to the registration authorities for an injunction towards the Internet consultant company to the effect as to only use their company name in full, i.e., together with the “AB”.
“It is obvious that the registration authorities are observant to company names and trade marks”, says Jan Welter. “When registering our own company name, this was first rejected due to the similarity with another company which also had Mind in its name. The internet consulting company’s aggressive use of the term “mind” has forced us to make this a formal issue, to the benefit of ourselves and of the other around one hundred companies in Sweden only having ‘mind’ as part of their company name”.
MindArk (www.mindark.com) develops Internet technology solutions. With novel applications in the experience and entertainment sector, in browser infrastructure, and in massively parallel simultaneous active user presence on the Internet, MindArk is expanding the new universe