Sony strikes down ‘Lord of War’ trademark at UKIPO
Sony has been awarded costs of £1,800 against Beijing Elex Technology after successfully opposing the latter’s 'Lord of War' trademark application, according to a UK Intellectual Property Office decision.
Sony opposed a trademark application for 'Lord of War', arguing there is a “likelihood of confusion, including the likelihood of association” with its 'God of War' existing trademark. “God of War,” released in April 2018, is an action-adventure game published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
On July 3, 2018, Elex applied to register the 'Lord of War' mark, with the application published for opposition purposes on July 13, 2018. On October 12, 2018, Sony filed a notice of opposition, brought under the 1994 Trade Marks Act, arguing that it relies upon its EU trademark (“EUTM”) number 4329785, for “God of War”.
The 'God of War' trademark entered in the register on April 18, 2006.
Sony claimed that the marks are highly similar, including “having the same literal meaning, and that the services applied for are identical or highly similar to the goods and services of the earlier mark.”
Sony also claimed that use of the contested mark would cause the “public to believe that there is an economic connection between the applicant and the opponent, where no such connection exists”.
This would allow Elex to “ride the coat-tails of the opponent’s power of attraction, reputation and prestige to exploit, without any effort of its own, the marketing efforts of the opponent to create and maintain the image of the earlier mark,” said Sony, claiming it would constitute an unfair advantage.
Elex, founded in 2008, describes itself as China’s “largest social games and internet product distributor”.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.
Today's top stories:
Warner Bros sues over paranormal tapes
Puma wins shoe injunction at Delhi court
Brands’ concern over post-Brexit protection revealed in report
Already registered?
Login to your account
If you don't have a login or your access has expired, you will need to purchase a subscription to gain access to this article, including all our online content.
For more information on individual annual subscriptions for full paid access and corporate subscription options please contact us.
To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.
For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk