When I hear the word BENTLEY I immediately think of the car brand, but when it comes to clothing, the English High Court of Justice has decided that the BENTLEY brand belongs to the family owned company – Brandlogic.
By way of background, the BENTLEY mark used by Brandlogic was registered in relation to clothing related products. Brandlogic has been using the BENTLEY mark for clothing from about 1962, where as Bentley Motors has been using the BENTLEY mark in relation to cars for about 100 years and developed its own clothing line about 20 years after Brandlogic began its operation.
Based on the trade mark registrations, Brandlogic instituted proceedings against Bentley Motors in an attempt to stop their use of the BENTLEY mark for clothing related products. This fight has seemingly been brewing for a while.
With the above in mind, fast forward to 2019, the court considered both sides’ arguments and decided that there was a likelihood that consumers could be confused by the BENTLEY marks and handed a win to Brandlogic. Bentley Motors will still be entitled to continue using the mark in relation to the sale of jackets, silk ties, caps and scarves, because of previous laws that came into play, but will not be entitled to use the mark for any other types of clothing or headgear. Further, Bentley Motors is entitled to advertise and market the goods using literature which bears the BENTLEY mark but will not be allowed to use the mark on the actual products themselves or on any tags or material attached to the products.
It remains to be seen whether Bentley Motors will take this matter on Appeal.
My personal take aways from this case:
1. If I was a trade mark owner, I would be sure to conduct searches before using any mark.
2. I would make sure to protect any of my important marks because it comes with some serious power.
The Legal Fashionista 