The issue was about that JADE, European Confederation of Junior Enterprises, has members in 15 countries in Europe. JADEs members encounter a quality check before they can call themselves a "Junior Enterprise". So a "Junior Enterprise" will do as much as possible to be granted with this status, since that means a lot to potential client and thus to them. It is like a quality trademark for clients.
The Executive board, or more specifically the Vice President of JADE International, Florent Barel, asked me some questions if they can prevent someone using the term "Junior Enterprises" although they did not came through the quality check or not even related to JADE at all...
My answer was that here you have the typical "grey" and disputable area of intellectual property law.
Known is that if you have a strong and well-known brand within your area of operation (which is a definition issue) one can get trademark protection if one can proof that the brand is used and known continuously and seriously to the public. So, does a trademark registration really give you some benefits? Or can you just leave the registration and trust on the strong brand name?
First: a "fake-Junior Enterprise" offers similar products or services, it COULD infringe the trademark. Yes, it could! Law can also be flexible and unclear, you might take a risk if you do not register.
Second: Consider that if one applies for a Trademark in all the 15 countries JADE is established, you'll spend quite some money on annual fees in each different country, possible (in court) protection, research and hunting for potential infringers.
Third: What benefits, except for evidence and proof does one has for registration of a trademark, considering all the costs possibly related to each bureaucratic national system?
I will be in contact with JADE in the upcoming weeks about what their real questions are, I will keep you informed!
Disclaimer, these are non-legal advices and I will not accept any claims based on this information. I am just a law student and starting blogger who is wondering about certain practical issues in the area of IP Law protection.
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