Web Week: Fun and claims

The Lawyer’s Web Week is a weekly commentary on legal activity on the web. This includes an overview of the best of the week’s blogs. If you want to direct us to useful links, email webweek@thelawyer.com.

Fun and claims

Fun is one of those things that disappears if you think too hard about it – as the IP specialists at the EU’s trademark court OHIM found out.

According to news site www.cnn.com, OHIM had ruled against US
car maker Ford in its attempt to register the word ‘fun’ as a ­trademark. But the Court of First Instance, Europe’s second-highest court, said it was fine and dandy for Ford to protect the word.

The news story said: “OHIM had said the word ‘fun’ is purely descriptive of what a car is, and what a consumer can get out of it. It said such descriptive signs can’t be registered as trademarks.

“The CFI ruled the word ‘fun’ did not fit the trademark law definition of a descriptive word.”

Fun is certainly not descriptive of this trademark case at any rate.

Sets’ sites write…

Web Week is used to ­seeing clients’ gushing appraisals of chambers quoted on barristers’ websites, so was not surprised to see “Blackfriars are the best in the ­business” on ­www.blackfriarschambers.com. However, it was surprising to see the quote in question attributed to “Anonymous”.

Meanwhile, US firm Brown Rudnick does not seem to be enjoying its time in the London ­market. Anyone trying to find a map for the office on the firm’s website (www.brownrudnick.com) will find a message ­reading: “PLEASE NOTE: WE DO NOT ADVISE DRIVING IN LONDON (This is due to heavy traffic and strict parking regulations).”

Whoever wrote that had their car ticketed by four traffic wardens the previous day.