NIKE sorry for use of BLACK AND TAN

A fire during the war in the Iraqi trademarks office destroyed a large number of trademark files. Owners of registrations are now requested to file evidence of ownership to restore their rights. Failure to do so will result in lapse of the registration. Please contact us for details.

Sunday 9 October 2011, Pieter (Piet) van Berkel suddenly died.  

Piet started his Merkenadviesbureau Van Berkel around the year 1985 in De Lier, Netherlands. Thanks to his many contacts, his firm grew to become market leader in the region. Upon his retirement in 2004, he transfered his trademark portfolio to our company. But until his sudden and untimely death he actively stayed in touch with many of his clients. Thus remaining a well known guest in the area. Our thoughts reach out to his family and friends. We will sorely miss him. Obituary

The domain extension .xxx will shortly be available for the adult entertainment industry. This implies that soon anyone can claim any name with the .xxx extension.

To prevent abuse of trademarks for these purposes, a blocking request may be filed up to 28 October, next. Upon acceptance, www.yourtrademark.xxx can no longer be used as a website but will resolve to a standard information page.

If you wish to block your trademark(s) for use under the .xxx extension, please contact us soon so that we can discuss your options.

The European Court of Justice has recently confirmed that the coat of arms of the former USSR cannot be registered as a Community trademark. According to the Court, the regisstration and use of this coat of arms would be against public order and morality.

The Hungarian Criminal Code prohibits the use of "symbols of totalitarianism", including the swastika, the symbol of the former Hungarian Nazi party and the hammer and sickle of the Soviet Union. This is sufficient for the EU Court to reject the application for the entire European Union. The full text of the judgment can be found here.

It is not clear whether registration of the USSR coat of arms in Benelux would be rejected as contrary to public policy.

In the past, registration of the trademark BIN LADEN was also refused as being contrary to morality, because it would glorify terrorism. By contrast, the trademark FUCKING HELL was accepted for registration.