A stylised crocodile on children's clothing. Infringement of
the Lacoste trademark or not? In the first instance, HEMA went
unpunished; on appeal, Lacoste came out on top. The key question in
the case is whether the public at large (you, me, everyone)
perceives the image as a trademark. In other words: is it
an indication of origin (according to Lacoste)? Or is it just an
innocent decoration (according to HEMA)?
It is certainly not the first time that companies are
fundamentally opposed to each other on the question of where the
boundary of a decoration lies. adidas fought the two stripes on
tracksuits from H&M, G-Star attacked C&A on the use of RAW,
clothing brand LIEF! ("KIND!") went after STOUT!
("NAUGHTY!").
