Rolex Wants Microbrand's Trademark

[Steve O.]

Interesting...

https://www.wristwatchreview.com/rolex- ... trademark/

[jtbenson]

very interesting, thanks for posting steve!

[gwells]

eff rolex here.

honestly, if they wanted to argue "genericide" and that there shouldn't be a trademark, i might buy that argument. but from the small amount of trademark research (and being both denied and granted, as well as having had to modify), i can't see where they have a leg to stand on. other than deep pockets to intimidate the current trademark holder.

[toxicavenger]

what a bunch of turds

[HapaHapa]

F Rolex. Maybe I'll buy a Kiger.

[Captdave]

F Rolex. Maybe I'll buy a Kiger.

+1


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[sierra11b]

Meh... I still want another Rolex

[Ryeguy]

I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be ultimately cheaper (and much better PR for the brand) for Rolex to simply offer Kiger $100K to buy the trademark.

[Ryeguy]

I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be ultimately cheaper (and much better PR for the brand) for Rolex to simply offer Kiger $100K to buy the trademark.

[dnslater]

I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be ultimately cheaper (and much better PR for the brand) for Rolex to simply offer Kiger $100K to buy the trademark.

It would be but it would set a precedent. They are trying to make an example out of this company.

[jimyritz]

Never heard of Kiger til now but cool article--I'd like Tudor discussed in the article..

[jimyritz]

I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be ultimately cheaper (and much better PR for the brand) for Rolex to simply offer Kiger $100K to buy the trademark.

====================
Everyone has a price...

[gwells]

I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be ultimately cheaper (and much better PR for the brand) for Rolex to simply offer Kiger $100K to buy the trademark.

It would be but it would set a precedent. They are trying to make an example out of this company.

is the example, "we're the asshole gorilla and you're just a snack to us?" cuz i can't see the legal leg rolex is standing on.

[JBZ]

This is an interesting hill Rolex has picked to die on, particularly given all of the submariner "homages" that are out there. But it may be easier for Rolex to go after something a bit more tangible like this. Also, as speculated, Rolex may be interested in marketing something with the milsub name (perhaps through Tudor) in the future.

Maybe they did offer Kiger $$$ for the TM but were turned down. I'm not an IP lawyer, but I do fine the argument that the term "milsub" is generic enough given its history that Rolex may have trouble winning this one. Also, as pointed out, Rolex never officially used the term previously. But their game may be to force Kiger to engage in a lengthy, costly legal battle, which will result in Kiger eventually settling. That will give Rolex what they want.

On a tangential note, I am amused the Bulova was mentioned in the article. It sounds like the same thing that happened to them with the space program happened with the military. People were hoping that they would ultimately produce acceptable watches for the space program/military, but they were never able to do it.

[gonzomantis]

Does Kiger even have a website, or are they online exclusively through Facebook (whatever that is).

[jtbenson]

F Rolex. Maybe I'll buy a Kiger.

+1


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honestly, this was my gut reaction take away also

[Morethan1]

Does Kiger even have a website, or are they online exclusively through Facebook (whatever that is).

Haven't found a website. Seems like ordering is through fb chat as well.

[gonzomantis]

Does Kiger even have a website, or are they online exclusively through Facebook (whatever that is).

Haven't found a website. Seems like ordering is through fb chat as well.

Well, I suppose that is one way to do business. Looking back at what little I can see (no FB account), I don’t see any pricing, and it seems at least some of their watches are made by NTH (our buddy docvail, right?).

[Morethan1]

Does Kiger even have a website, or are they online exclusively through Facebook (whatever that is).

Haven't found a website. Seems like ordering is through fb chat as well.

Well, I suppose that is one way to do business. Looking back at what little I can see (no FB account), I don’t see any pricing, and it seems at least some of their watches are made by NTH (our buddy docvail, right?).

Same, didn't see pricing as well.

On a similar note, our friend Mr. Yao has had the "TORNEK-RAYVILLE" trademark for some time now. I wonder if Blancpain would pull a similar move as Rolex. Mind you, Yao hasn't produced more than a few watches to date as is the typical crackpot fashion.




He's planning something though...there's an instagram page with the name:

[pbj204]

[Ryeguy]

I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be ultimately cheaper (and much better PR for the brand) for Rolex to simply offer Kiger $100K to buy the trademark.

It would be but it would set a precedent. They are trying to make an example out of this company.

is the example, "we're the asshole gorilla and you're just a snack to us?" cuz i can't see the legal leg rolex is standing on.

I'm a pragmatist. If I were running Rolex, I would simple get an estimate of how many hours our legal team would have to invest in order to win a legal battle (and how likely that "win" would be) versus just finding out how many zeros need to be on the check I wrote to Kiger.

I'd also be concerned about the potential of Kiger counter-suing me with some attorney who wanted to make a name for themselves "defending the little guy against an evil corporate giant". I'd bet an attorney could make a field day with press conferences defending Kiger and dragging Rolex's brand name through the mud.

[DenverBuff]

You don't tug on Superman's cape.
You don't spit into the wind.
You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Rolex legal

No doubt this Kiger guy has the better legal position, but there's also no question Rolex has a battalion of lawyers who can bury this guy in lost time and fees. Can he win? Sure. Those Vortic guys in Colorado took on Swatch/Hamilton and won but it was a freaking multi-year siege in NYC courts. I doubt Mr. Kiger has that kind of arsenal. Maybe I'm wrong.

I question whether Kiger's use of "milsub" is generating the type of income that makes the marginal return on legal fees worthwhile. Put up a fighting retreat, get Rolex' best price and let somebody else - like Bill Yao - die on this hill.

[Ryeguy]

You don't tug on Superman's cape.
You don't spit into the wind.
You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Rolex legal

No doubt this Kiger guy has the better legal position, but there's also no question Rolex has a battalion of lawyers who can bury this guy in lost time and fees. Can he win? Sure. Those Vortic guys in Colorado took on Swatch/Hamilton and won but it was a freaking multi-year siege in NYC courts. I doubt Mr. Kiger has that kind of arsenal. Maybe I'm wrong.

I question whether Kiger's use of "milsub" is generating the type of income that makes the marginal return on legal fees worthwhile. Put up a fighting retreat, get Rolex' best price and let somebody else - like Bill Yao - die on this hill.

In a vacuum I would 100% agree with you, but in today's world I think there is more to the story.

This isn't Rolex justifiably chasing down a counterfeit watch producer. This is (potentially) them trying to strong arm a small business into giving up a legally acquired trade mark.

Don't forget that Rolex is a very brand conscious organization. Look what AT&T did when some old codger spent a few grand to put a complaint ad in the Wall Street Journal. AT&T scrambled to save themselves from a PR nightmare.

[logan2z]

I dug up a few photos of Kriger watches. I wonder if Rolex would be so aggressively pursuing the trademark issue if Kriger wasn't making Rolex/Tudor knockoffs. Yeah, lots of other microbrands do it but the use of a name like Milsub that is commonly associated with Rolex watches may have rubbed a bit too much salt in the wound.

[JBZ]

You don't tug on Superman's cape.
You don't spit into the wind.
You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Rolex legal

No doubt this Kiger guy has the better legal position, but there's also no question Rolex has a battalion of lawyers who can bury this guy in lost time and fees. Can he win? Sure. Those Vortic guys in Colorado took on Swatch/Hamilton and won but it was a freaking multi-year siege in NYC courts. I doubt Mr. Kiger has that kind of arsenal. Maybe I'm wrong.

I question whether Kiger's use of "milsub" is generating the type of income that makes the marginal return on legal fees worthwhile. Put up a fighting retreat, get Rolex' best price and let somebody else - like Bill Yao - die on this hill.

This is where I come out. As I mentioned, I wouldn't be surprised if Rolex approached Kiger before the lawsuit and offered to buy the TM. Kiger either thought the Rolex offer was too low or took a "no amount of money would convince me to sell" position.

Just based on the article, I think Kiger probably has a strong case (again, not an IP lawyer), but that may not matter if they don't have the resources to back it up. So Rolex is hoping KIger will settle rather than put themselves through years of litigation and thousands in legal fees. I suppose it's possible that Kiger's owner is independently wealthy, but going up against Rolex (or any big company) is a tough road, no matter who you are.

And I don't think Rolex is too worried about public perception at this point. This is the sort of thing that at the most becomes a big deal for a few days or weeks and then fades away. I doubt it will even get to that level.