Next PLC force independent retailer to change her business name of 24 years.
It is a common misconception that trading under a brand name for a good number of years will automatically grant you brand protection.
Last week, VOCM reported a story about a local business owner that was being forced to re-brand her business after her social media accounts and website were shut down following an infringement complaint. Her business name was Next Clothing Company, the trademark claim has been brought against her by Next Plc.
Shop owner, Gail Decker, has owned her Next Clothing Company shop in St John’s, Canada for 24 years. But the fact that her business was well established and traded in a different country to UK based retail giant Next Plc, did not offer her the protection or rights she needed to defend her brand name.
Decker say’s that she reached out to a trademark lawyer, but after further research she realised that the David and Goliath battle would be a difficult one to win. Next Plc has over 500 stores worldwide and 44,000 employees.
For now, Decker has no other choice but to rebrand the business as ‘Gail’s Clothing Company’, along with all of the time-consuming processes and administration that involves.
For further information on protecting your trademark, contact our team today.
Questions about this
Why did Next Clothing Company have to rebrand?
Gail Decker had run Next Clothing Company in St John’s, Canada, for 24 years, but after an infringement complaint from Next Plc her social media accounts and website were shut down. Facing a difficult David and Goliath battle, she chose to rebrand as Gail’s Clothing Company. Trading for decades, and in a different country, did not give her the rights she needed to defend the name.
Answered by Jonathan Paton, Founder & CEOWhy couldn’t 24 years of trading protect the Next Clothing Company name?
Because long use is not the same as a registered right. Gail Decker had traded as Next Clothing Company in Canada for 24 years, but that history did not give her the rights she needed against Next Plc’s infringement complaint, which saw her website and social media accounts shut down. Facing a much larger opponent, she chose to rebrand as Gail’s Clothing Company. Registering a trademark in each territory where a business trades gives it something clear to enforce.
Answered by Jonathan Paton, Founder & CEOCan a trademark complaint get a website and social media accounts taken down?
Yes. In the Next case, the independent retailer’s social media accounts and website were shut down following an infringement complaint from the larger brand. That can leave a business without its online presence while it decides whether to fight or rebrand, which is why checking a name properly before building a business on it is far cheaper than dealing with the fallout.
Answered by Jonathan Paton, Founder & CEO
