Kit Kat shape trademarked

Nestle wins trademark battle over KitKat bar
Excerpt:

Nestle, which now owns Rowntree, registered the shape of the KitKat as a trademark in 2006, but rival Cadbury then won an appeal that invalidated the registration.

Now, however, Nestle has won a European-wide ruling from the board of appeal at the Community Trade Mark Office that reinstates the trademark on the famous chocolate bar and stops rival companies from producing similar products.

The KitKat ruling is the latest stage of a series of legal spats between confectioners Nestle and Cadbury over trademarks.

Last year, Cadbury secured a High Ruling that prevented rivals using the purple colour on its Dairy Milk wrappers.

Comment: Image source . Also consider Cadbury owns the colour purple – in chocolate packaging terms at least, a High Court judge has ruled.

What do the Nexus One and IPad have in common?

Google's 'Nexus One' Trademark Application Denied

Excerpt:

Google Inc.'s trademark application for its Nexus One cellphone has been denied, according to a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruling filed last week.

The ruling, which has been noted on several blogs and news sites, says Google's application was denied because of "a likelihood of confusion" with a related trademark held Integra Telecom Inc., based in Portland, Ore.

Integra's "Nexus" trademark was registered in 2008, according to public records. The company offers a telecommunications service under that name, according to its Web site.

The ruling noted trademarks can be denied based on a likelihood of confusion over appearance, sound and meaning. Google now has the opportunity to submit further evidence in support of its application, according to last week's ruling.

Comment: See earlier post about the IPad