Business Maverick, Media
Trademarks Registrar rejects Cell C logo
Cell C's new logo has been provisionally rejected by the Registrar of Trademarks. Cipro documents show that the new logo was rejected on 2 August, but the company went ahead with its launch on 4 August. The company said that reports that the logo had been rejected were "incorrect", because the Registrar has yet to examine the trademark application. Legal experts say it's impossible to determine what the grounds for the provisional rejection are, but you don't need to be an expert to see that the new logo looks a lot like the copyright sign, and Regulation 10 of the Regulations to the Trade Marks Act 194 of 1993 clearly stipulates that, "subject to the provisions of any other law, the Registrar of Trade Marks may refuse to accept any application for registration of a trade mark upon which any of the following appear: (b) the letters "(R)", "(C)" or similar combinations which may be construed to import a reference to registration." Cell C said they spent upward of R160 million just on the rebranding of their stores with the new logo, so we can expect them to fight this one out to the highest level, dragging it out for a few years at the least. Read more: ITWeb.
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