New story of a ruling from late April this year. The U.S. Patent and Trade Office's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled against OMEGA's opposition to the use of the Greek letter omega by Alliant Techsystems, Inc.
Story here: http://www.insidecounsel.com/2015/06/29/time-runs-out-on-omega
Sample of how Alliant uses the Ω symbol here: http://tmhound.com/results.asp?maxFiles=10&sort=1&adv=1&owner=BlackHawk+Industries+Product+Group+Unlimited+LLC&nPage=3
OMEGA's claim was that use of the Ω symbol by Alliant on its products may confuse some consumers and leave them with the impression that the item was an OMEGA product and that Alliant would benefit from using a symbol associated with a well-established brand. Alliant doesn't make watches, they produce tactical gear and tactical equipment for military, law enforcement and defense applications and general purpose bags and pouches for holding tactical gear and tactical equipment.
I sympathize with OMEGA, but I'm biased. I own one of their watches and I'm more aware of the brand and I recognize it when I see it. Just like if you own a car (pick your colour & brand) you tend to notice them everywhere. I would agree that most people outside of the watch enthusiast community may not be familiar with OMEGA; some may recognize the logo, but only from watching timed sporting events, e.g. at the Olympic Games. You have to go to sites that list hundreds of global brands: http://brandirectory.com/league_tables/table/global-500-2014 in order to find where Swiss-made watch companies rate in terms of recognition.
Speaking of the Olympics, the IOC is well-known for stamping out almost all infringements (real, or imagined) on its brand including uses of the word "Olympic" and certainly the use of the five rings logo. When the 2010 Winter Games were awarded to Vancouver, the local Olympia Restaurant had to fight hard to keep its name and logo, having had a long history in that market. See story: http://www.olympiapizza.com/About.html. Even more reading: http://dspace.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/1880/47943/1/Bowal_Whats2010_LawNow.pdf.
So a few questions: Do you think OMEGA's claim has merit, or were they going too far against Alliant Techsystems, Inc.? When does a company/organization go too far to protect its name and logo?
dams-r-us
PS. Happy Canada Day!
