Porsche Takes A Bite Out Of Crocs – Joe sent me this story this week (thanks Joe!). It seems Porsche has taken on Crocs over the use of the Cayman name. Porsche, of course, has the Cayman model. Crocs has a sandal named Cayman. Porsche is claiming that Crocs’ use of the Cayman name infringes on it’s trademark. Of course, this story is all over the Internet. My favorite blog post title referrencing this story was “Can A Moron Driving A Porsche Recognize The Difference Between The Car And A Pair Of Crocs?” Classic! [Via footnoted.org]
The Porsche of flashlights hits the streets – Porsche Design has applied it’s design prowess to the flashlight world. Probably the coolest thing about this light is the battery technology they’re using. You’ll notice two tubes. One has two CR123 batteries. The other contains what they call an OnCommand Reserve Battery that has a minimum 20-year shelf life. Also built in is a USB port to charge your cell phone or other gadgets. Course if you’re going to leave this $300 beauty sitting on a shelf in the garage, you might as well hit the Army Surplus store. They gotta have something similar there for a few bucks. [Via News.Cnet.com]
China on the auto fast track – China is on track to pass the U.S. as the world’s biggest national auto market this year. Car sales are up and expected in 2012 to be three times higher than in 2004. Porsche is expecting in the next few years to sell more cars in China than they do in Germany. Pretty amazing how far China is coming. Hopefully they can make up for some of the slowdown the automotive industry is seeing everywhere else. [Via Nationalpost.com]
Porsche raising money to help cure cancer – PorschePurist.com had a little story about the Porsche family donating watches from their personal collections to be auctioned off on Dec 2nd. The proceeds are going to the Oncology Research Department of the Robert Bosch Hospital in Stuttgart, Germany. I’m a big watch guy and I have to say it would be pretty amazing to have a watch out of the collection. Especially a Porsche Design. [Via PorschePurist.com]
I think that Porsche suing a shoe company is ridiculous, especially over a name that they borrowed from someone else. Maybe the Cayman Islands should be next, and anyone who grows cayenne peppers should have to pay a licensing fee.Come on I could see if another car company were using the name but shoes?
In the states, Porsche couldnt claim rights to the Cayman name unless they received a mark in that class of goods that included shoes. Does Porsche design have a shoe name Cayman thats registered? If so..Crocs is in a swamp of trouble 🙂 …..Good one though for Porsche with the watch auction!!
@Brad,
In the case of Porsche suing Croc, it would appear they do have a legal leg to stand on. According to what I read, a European Community Trademark must be used in the class for which it has been registered within 5 years after registration. If it isn’t used within that period, it can be challenged .
Porsche says they have a trademark on “Cayman” in class 25.
Class 25 included the following list of goods and services
Clothing, footwear, headwear; clothing for men, women and children, shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, jogging suits, trousers, pants, shorts, tank tops, rainwear, cloth bibs, skirts, blouses; dresses, suspenders, sweaters, jackets, coats, raincoats, snow suits, ties, robes, hats, caps, sun-visors, belts, scarves, sleepwear, pyjamas, lingerie, underwear, boots, shoes, sneakers, sandals, booties, slipper socks, swimwear and masquerade and Halloween costumes; parts and accessories relating to all the aforesaid.
So, as long as Porsche has used it in the last five (5) years, it should be open and shut (even if it is silly). 🙂
Porsche has Caymen name and so does Crocs. Porsche and Crocs have named Cramer Krasselt as their ad agency. That’s ironic!
Wow! That’s crazy.
http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1038413_porsche-posts-6-6-billion-loss
oops
@993c4s Oh heck yeah i believe you! As long as Porsche has the name locked down…in the class ……Use of such mark no matter how broad the category…Its theirs!! and they MUST defend no matter how silly it appears,,,It would actually be foolish to NOT defend your mark …Standard procedure! (give them an inch they will take a yard) Most large companies/ franchises retain attorneys to look for infringement
My belief initially was if they dont have that class marked….No matter how mighty, They have nothing. Got the class of goods covered…end of argument..They (Porsche) win!
It doesn’t surprise me that China is a big future martket for cars. They are a big market for anything. We need to think of something to market there so we can make some money. That is what I am thinking…