Lita tells Afro-IP that this week's #sandtondiscussion turns east to consider a recent case where famous footwear and apparel brand New Balance lost a trade mark case in China and is ordered to pay over RMB 98 million (a whopping USD 15.7 million) in damages to a Zhou Lelan, a local shoe manufacturer and alleged trade mark hijacker, over the use of the translation of the New Balance trade mark. The case itself is summarized by Shanghai Patent & Trade Mark Law office here.
What does this case say for your brand strategy in China? What is the difference between a translation and a transliteration? What does this say for your brand in Africa, with an estimated 1500-2000 languages? You can join us to discuss these and other questions 9am CAT on twitter using #sandtondiscussion
During last week's discussion Isaac shared his views on the progress and effectiveness of utility model protection in Kenya before Eddie Hurter explained an exciting competition sponsored by Unisa, ZA Domain Name Registry and SAIIPL involving the possible future of Africa domain names. You can read more about that here.
