Bra-vo, ladies! Lingerie shop wins three-year US legal battle
A LINGERIE shop owner has won a three-year legal battle with a US television network which tried to stop her putting on a fashion show.
Grace Hay was left stunned when New York’s Fashion One television objected to her registering a trademark called Highland Fashion Week.
the 34-year-old businesswoman, who runs Grace Lily Lingerie in Nairn, applied for the trademark to market a local community event.
the US firm, which operates a number of fashion-based digital tV channels that are broadcast around the world, already owns a trademark called Fashion Week.
It said Miss Hay’s trademark was too similar and would confuse customers.
Now, after a three-year battle, the case has been decided by the UK Intellectual Property Office, which rules on trademark disputes.
It said Miss Hay should be allowed the trademark after ruling consumers were unlikely to confuse hers with the one owned by the Fashion One channel.
Miss Hay said: ‘I couldn’t believe it when we were told this company was trying to stop us getting the trademark. I am a small shop owner and I just want to put on a local event to showcase Highland and Scottish fashion.
‘I couldn’t see how a small community fashion week could have any impact on a television network in New York.
‘It did seem very heavy-handed for them to come after us.’
Highland Fashion Week was run in 2015 under a different organiser and Miss Hay hopes to relaunch the event. She added: ‘this has been going on for three years and I have been unable to launch the event without the trademark.
‘I am very excited that it went in our favour because I didn’t think we would win the case. I had to file all the evidence myself, which was very daunting.
‘It’s a huge weight off my shoulders and will allow me to press ahead with my plans.
‘I think it will be a great thing for the area. We want to get a lot of local people involved and show what the Highlands has to offer.’
Fashion One is the owner and operator of networks Fashion One, Fashion First, Fashion Uno and Fashion 4K and claims to have a total viewership of more than 400million households on five continents.
Issuing her ruling in the case, trademark hearing officer Louise White said: ‘It is considered that both marks refer to a week-long event in relation to fashion, the later trademark informing that this is geographically limited to a Highland area.
‘Bearing in mind the nature of the consumer here, namely that they are domiciled in the UK, it is considered probable that Highlands will be understood as referring to the Scottish Highlands.
‘the addition of this word in the later trademark adds a geographical context, that is, a weeklong fashion event taking place in the Highlands.
‘this is not a clear conceptual gap, but it does have an impact.
‘I am more than satisfied that a consumer will not mistake one trademark for the other. there is no likelihood of direct confusion.
‘Even if the later trademark brought the earlier trademark to mind (which is considered doubtful), this is mere association and not confusion.’