During a walk through my home town I passed by this store showcasting various Birkin and Kelly look-a-like bags in several colors and sizes.

Pics of the store I passed by showcasting the look-a-like bags.

Hermès bags, and especially the Birkin and Kelly have been extremely popular for years and years. Unfortunately, only the rich and famous are able to purchase one. The price of a basic Birkin nowadays is about 6K euro.

Since most bags are normally only protected by copyright, the designer can only act against an identical copy of the design. However, Hermès is one of the few fashion houses that apparantly finds IP-protection very important. They have managed to register a Community Trademark (3D) Registration for the Birkin!


Community Trademark Registration (3D) ofthe Hermès Birkin

This means that anyone copying the design of the Birkin bag is not only in violation of copyright but also trademark infringement!

With a trademark registration it is possible to act against any use and/or registration of a sign that is (phonetically, visually or conceptually) similar or identical to the registered mark. This will result in a much broader protection than copyright only!

Taking this into consideration, do you believe these bags are infringing Hèrmes' rights?

Tomorrow the World Cup will finally start! I already filled out the office soccer pool and according to my predictions our national team will meet the Brazilian team in the quarter finals ...  whoops! :s 

Today, as a great kick-off, Vanity Fair published pictures the famous photographer Annie Leibovitz took of some great soccer players. Such a great way to get in the mood don't you agree? ;)


Photo from www.vanityfair.com taken by Annie Leibovitz

Well, unfortunately big events such as the World Cup are also always a great opportunity for many companies to earn an extra buck! Sales for t-shirts and merchandise will be huge. And we all know that if there’s cash involved, the counterfeiters always manage to find their way to earn some extra money as well!

For weeks there have been many reports of counterfeit items being seized by authorities in several countries. And according to a research done by Kelkoo 20% of World Cup merchandise may be fake. In addition, 25% of consumers have admitted that they would consider buying counterfeit shirts and products. Shocking!

Since the beginning of this year customs authorities have seized more than 10 million euros worth of fake football apparal mostly manufactured in in China and other Asian countries. And already over 100 cases involving counterfeit World Cup products have been brought to court.

Photo taken from www.dailymail.co.uk

Legitimate sellers like in this picture are suffering from the sales of fakes.

You can find fake shirts and merchandise everywhere in South-Africa and in some cases these fake items are passed on as the real thing. If you want to tell the difference between the real deal and a fake you will have to look out for finer details of the product, like the quality of the fabric and logos. Nowadays lots of these counterfeit items are so close to the originals, it's hard to tell if what you have in your hands is real or not.

If you want to read more i.e. reasons why you should not buy fake shirts and merchandise and tips on how to buy official FIFA World Cup merchandise please check out the article "Up to a Fifth of FIFA World Cup Merchandise May be Fake".

Well, fake or no fake, I wish everyone a fantastic World Cup!!! And may the best country (Holland) win!

Me wearing Diane von Furstenberg dress and Christian Louboutin shoes.

With popularity still growing, Christian Louboutin's shoes are widely copied and sold as authentics. During my regular visits to the trademark databases I stumbled upon a recently registered trademark of the red sole mark by Mr. Louboutin. I am happy to see that he has managed to register the red sole as a color mark in the Benelux and is now waiting for his Community Trademark Application to mature into a registration as well!



Christian Louboutin's Red Sole Mark.

Counterfeiters: hands off! It's not only copyright infringement but also infringement of registered trademark rights when copying Mr. Louboutin's red sole shoes!