REALLY ROLEX!!!!
Now just to be clear I'm not a rolex hater, good watches,iconic brand and I admire them. This morning our very own fellow cruncher Scooby sent me this link https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-64268369.amp.
Now hopefully you'l see the story, but the gist of it is that this company that make clocks for children to learn to tell the time is being threatened by Rolex's Lawers over the name that uses oyster in it and demands either a name change or rebranding of the product from clock's to toys. The name of the clocks is Oyster&Pop
Now you certainly see from the pictures there's a definite similarity, yes they're round, tell the time and made on planet earth. And as for the name
Here's where the two owners of the company grew up, so the name comes from their childhood home. So definitely in the mind of rolex an attack on their iconic brand and an attempt to piggyback on their huge success (there's even rumours if waitlists of anything between 3 days to a week depending on geographical location and strike action).
Now when I first read this I thought ba####ds, but then I thought marketing genius, big boy bullying the little guy but then the CEO stepping in and putting things right, a tie up of sorts, photo opportunity, free publicity for both parties and showing the hard nosed corporate giant has a soft cuddly side that really loves the human race and can have a bit of fun and share the love and a little if the wealth around. But no, they've already won in the courts in the US, they're taking it seriously.
I did wrongly think this was generated by lawyer bot_algorithm and would and should with human oversight ie a suit upstairs thinking is this really us and in the best interest of the company(and luxury watchmaking) especially in the light of the state of the world's economy at the moment. Have they gone after Google who with a quick search will lead you to hundreds of fakes/clones of their famous products or the governments of countries who make them or sell openly.
Of course not. The perch will bully the minnow, but the pike rules all. And its a big pond and in the grand scheme of things rolex is only a perch. I've heard of these lawsuits before, and my opinion is yes protect your brand but show some common sense(and a little humility for your success). What next???
The end of this..Well if you put it in a round bowl,a stick in the middle some marks on the rim and out on the lawn on a sunny day, et viola, a totall infringement of brand copyright, potential customers confused by the similarity, rushing to their local supermarket and being sorely disappointed with the lack of waitlists and the mess on their cuffs when mounted on a bracelet. Maybe employ less lawyers and more markets.
So what do you think my fellows, right or wrong. Are potential customers going to be bamboozled into buying a lazy executed clock designed for 5 year olds, or will they buy a timepiece made to teach the next generation about analogue time and timepieces and the joy of moving parts that show the passage if our lives through the universe(ok a bit ironic but had to have a little dig). Or is it feasible to crowd fund a lawsuit on behalf of a group of bivalve molluscs.
REALLY ROLEX!!!!(your better than this😪)
Love dive watches,practical,stylish and sometimes beautiful. In my collection seikos, a couple of longines and an alpina
Brilliant!
Bloody hell that rants been brewing all day
Ill put on the public forum what I said to Stricko.
"It must be impossible for a reasonably well informed consumer to confuse the two IP's".
That's what the article states (or the general gist anyway may not be word for word). Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but there's not a snowballs chance in hell that a reasonably informed consumer could possibly confuse the two.
Also, there should be no problem getting a court to agree with the small company.In a similar case, Adidas recently took the fashion designer Thom Brownie to court as his 4 stripe socks were deemed too similar to Adidas' 3 stripe trademark. Thom Brownie won. 4 stripes on a sock is a lot more likely to confuse a customer than Rolex Oyster Perpetual and Oyster and Pop clock.
Can’t say I’m surprised, companies like Rolex are famous for having no chill. That said, I can’t see there being any harm to them. They’re basically Teflon, and I just don’t think, as much as Omega hopes otherwise, that they’ll lose any business over this. That said, what a bunch of wankers.
The BBC link doesn't work, but based on what has been stated in the post, the actions of Rolex are abhorrent. I've never been a Rolex basher, but tactics like this could put me firmly in that camp (not like they give a rat's ass what anyone thinks).
The BBC link doesn't work, but based on what has been stated in the post, the actions of Rolex are abhorrent. I've never been a Rolex basher, but tactics like this could put me firmly in that camp (not like they give a rat's ass what anyone thinks).
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-64268369.amp
Take 2.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/rolex-watch-children-clock-b2265500.html%3famp
The Independent reported on it too just in case anyone with tinfoil hats don't trust the BBC.
It is sad given how many folks of each passing gen cannot read a clock. You'd think the HWF would be happy folks are learning to read time and appreciate watches. No one is mistaking this clock for being an actual oyster case.
I never even knew about all this Rolex “Oyster” stuff until I got more into watches a couple years ago. I do worry sometimes about going out to buy a luxury watch, getting confused along the way, and ending up coming home with a plate of seafood.
It is sad given how many folks of each passing gen cannot read a clock. You'd think the HWF would be happy folks are learning to read time and appreciate watches. No one is mistaking this clock for being an actual oyster case.
Yep, instead of putting them down, they should be promoting them.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2018/04/24/schools-removing-analogue-clocks-exam-halls-teenagers-unable/
From the article: "Teachers are now installing digital devices after pupils sitting their GCSE and A-level exams complained that they were struggling to read the correct time on an analogue clock. Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said youngsters have become accustomed to using digital devices. “The current generation aren’t as good at reading the traditional clock face as older generations,” he told The Telegraph."
At this rate, Rolex might sue Tudor.
My only hope is that this clash, and resulting publicity, will actually help the clock makers. They could say our clocks were so good, mighty Rolex had to sue us haha. Seriously, I think this publicity might spread the word about their products.
My only hope is that this clash, and resulting publicity, will actually help the clock makers. They could say our clocks were so good, mighty Rolex had to sue us haha. Seriously, I think this publicity might spread the word about their products.
Oo, pull a Nike, and say the NBA banned the Air Jordan 1's? When really the NBA banned the color scheme?... Then come to find the NBA actually banned the Nike Air Ships, not the Air Jordan 1's? Marketing at it's finest.
Nike marketing might be better than Rolex. 😮
It is sad given how many folks of each passing gen cannot read a clock. You'd think the HWF would be happy folks are learning to read time and appreciate watches. No one is mistaking this clock for being an actual oyster case.
As sad as it is, I stopped blaming the 'kids these days' when I realised nobody actually taught them to read analog clocks anymore - and with digitals being literally everywhere, people are forgetting that clocks do, in fact, come in circles. You'd think it wouldn't be too hard to read or figure out how an analog clock works, but then again I've seen adults nearing half a century of existence not know about other simple, basic, common-sense things either.
Rolex does this because (a) they have to protect their IP and so next time something like that happen nobody will be able to claim that Rolex doesn't have a clear and consistent policy. (b) There is no such thing as bad publicity and (c) because why not do it? It's not like a faceless corporation established by a tax dodger should have any moral problems with screwing a couple of small business owners.
This two year old company that has not gone through the trademark process. They would likely have been denied based on their application of use. It is disingenious of the news not to mention the application and why Rolex took exception to brand dilutiion. I understand if they had been doing this for 20 years and Rolex suddenly took exception, however this is just a 18 month old application. (filed in 2021 -03-09)
Their application of trademark use:
Primary US Classes
Primary International Class
Rolex was doing what is reasonable and timely at this juncture. Not so much a david and golith story. Just two ladies thinking they could get cute with a name, file trademark, make it a news story and get away with it.
Rolex is actually being nice at this point in time. Saving them money on further hassle with their trademark case which they would likely lose in the long run.
What else is there to like about rolex?
Devil's advocate from the other side. Did the toy company intentionally name it after a well established IP to provoke a reaction & get endless media coverage for free. I bet their waiting list is longer than for a subby now ;) mission accomplished.
At least they didn't add Mercedes hands 😀
If you haven’t seen the picture in another thread about this subject, please do. If that clock is one of their products, Rolex is justified. The crown on that dial is the Rolex crown no mistaking. BTW, the company already lost a similar case is the USA.
I know it's not cool to side with Goliath in these stories... but protecting your IP is a complex and serious issue for companies. I worked with IP enforcement for a while, it's a necessary part of protecting a valuable IP. And the big company is ALWAYS portrayed as evil and powerful... but much of the time that's not the case. And in other cases it's just something the company has to do in order to be able to fight bigger cases that could cause genuine harm.
If we had let smaller entities (that pose no actual threat) infringe on our copyrights and misuse our trademarks that could actually be used against us when fighting larger actors who could do real damage. So you end up having to go after everyone. Usually the small ones are just ignorant people who know nothing about copyright or trademark and didn't bother to try to learn before using it to sell their products. And being ignorant shouldn't be an excuse to get away with it.
Yep, instead of putting them down, they should be promoting them.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2018/04/24/schools-removing-analogue-clocks-exam-halls-teenagers-unable/
From the article: "Teachers are now installing digital devices after pupils sitting their GCSE and A-level exams complained that they were struggling to read the correct time on an analogue clock. Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said youngsters have become accustomed to using digital devices. “The current generation aren’t as good at reading the traditional clock face as older generations,” he told The Telegraph."
And too true,even in my house. Daughter point blank refuses to learn to read a clock(she's 14 tomorrow) tried for years to teach her. She says she's not interested and doesn't need to, we had a heated discussion last week in town when she wanted to know how long till her dance lesson started and were stood near the town hall clock,look up and you'll see I said ,with that she got all huffy. And that's with the daughter of our towns number 1 watch fiend, we've tried. Now tik tok ,absolute genius at it. Kids of today😪, makes me sound old.
I know it's not cool to side with Goliath in these stories... but protecting your IP is a complex and serious issue for companies. I worked with IP enforcement for a while, it's a necessary part of protecting a valuable IP. And the big company is ALWAYS portrayed as evil and powerful... but much of the time that's not the case. And in other cases it's just something the company has to do in order to be able to fight bigger cases that could cause genuine harm.
If we had let smaller entities (that pose no actual threat) infringe on our copyrights and misuse our trademarks that could actually be used against us when fighting larger actors who could do real damage. So you end up having to go after everyone. Usually the small ones are just ignorant people who know nothing about copyright or trademark and didn't bother to try to learn before using it to sell their products. And being ignorant shouldn't be an excuse to get away with it.
I get where you are coming from but Why would anyone be ok to defend Intellectual Property over our Children’s education is beyond me.
the whole world is already abusing our Children with the balenciaga scandal, let alone the the church’s paedophilia, we’re going to let a watch company who avoids taxes by so-called charity interfere with children’s education now?
i do apologise for getting a little overboard and went a little non-watch topic, but truly the world isnt safe for our children anymore
We live in a clown world. Who in their right mind would confuse the two? SHAME ROLEX SHAME!
I get where you are coming from but Why would anyone be ok to defend Intellectual Property over our Children’s education is beyond me.
the whole world is already abusing our Children with the balenciaga scandal, let alone the the church’s paedophilia, we’re going to let a watch company who avoids taxes by so-called charity interfere with children’s education now?
i do apologise for getting a little overboard and went a little non-watch topic, but truly the world isnt safe for our children anymore
I have to say I don’t know what you’re talking about.
It's not about confusing the two, or stealing business from Rolex. Copyrights can become diluted and less defendable in court. If they allow these nice ladies to use their copyrighted name, then others will probably use it too. Finally, if someone comes out with a different watch named Rolex, they can claim in court that the name is in common use, and not copyrightable. This has happend in the past, I believe it was with Kleenex.
It's not about confusing the two, or stealing business from Rolex. Copyrights can become diluted and less defendable in court. If they allow these nice ladies to use their copyrighted name, then others will probably use it too. Finally, if someone comes out with a different watch named Rolex, they can claim in court that the name is in common use, and not copyrightable. This has happend in the past, I believe it was with Kleenex.
In the bigger picture, copyrights, IP, all of It doesnt matter if we’re not making a better or educative world for our children.
Its gullible to think a small time company using a COMMON word like Oyster would create a loss chaos on Rolex’s turnover.
The clocks are more like a FlikFlak watch than a Rolex. You don’t see the Swatch Group complaining.
In the bigger picture, copyrights, IP, all of It doesnt matter if we’re not making a better or educative world for our children.
Its gullible to think a small time company using a COMMON word like Oyster would create a loss chaos on Rolex’s turnover.
So you're saying that we can't "make a better world for our children" without violating Rolex' copywright? The only way we can do that is by naming the book "oyster"?
So you're saying that we can't "make a better world for our children" without violating Rolex' copywright? The only way we can do that is by naming the book "oyster"?
so you are saying adults should enforce a law on a childrens company that sells educational clocks that teaches the next generation how to read analog clocks instead of digital ones? Great responsibility
there is a bigger picture, as stated, that is beyond you and me, eg go an read up about the balenciaga scandal. these smaller issues will indirectly contribute to the world we create for the next generation.
i mean take a look at your generation and what it has done ….
It's pathetic and embarrassing. I wouldn't buy a Rolex, even if it came with a free Super yacht and a lifetime supply of Ferraris
I would with the yacht and Ferraris but if not... last brand brandi would chose , waiting list? Lol
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-64268369.amp
Take 2.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/rolex-watch-children-clock-b2265500.html%3famp
The Independent reported on it too just in case anyone with tinfoil hats don't trust the BBC.
Bolshevik Bullshitters Collective is it not ? The BBC stopped being part of the fourth estate a very long time ago . Scribes sitting at at the feet of the ideologues . Aside from my rant thanks for the alternative source not to be confused with Oyster Sauce lol
Could have just been another marketing master stroke. Along with Nike/Coke a Cola, they are the marketing masters. And they are like Marmite… if you are not British google it 👌😂