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煙草在線據(jù)《商務(wù)日?qǐng)?bào)》報(bào)道編譯 位于溫斯頓-塞勒姆的R.J.雷諾煙草公司起訴電子卷煙制造商SAS科技公司,指控這家公司侵犯了自己的駱駝和云斯頓的商標(biāo)權(quán)。
SAS科技公司以SaveASmoker.com網(wǎng)站開展業(yè)務(wù),并推銷和銷售用于電子卷煙的加香料液體尼古丁產(chǎn)品。這宗訴訟是由R.J.雷諾煙草公司的子公司雷諾創(chuàng)新公司于上周(10.28-11.3)在北卡羅來納的美國地區(qū)法院提出的。而R.J.雷諾煙草公司本身又是雷諾美國公司的一家子公司。
雷諾創(chuàng)新公司稱,在不同香味的液體尼古丁產(chǎn)品中,SaveASmoker.com也出售帶有“駱駝煙草”和“云斯頓”等名稱的“電子液體”產(chǎn)品。
根據(jù)這宗訴訟,雷諾創(chuàng)新公司認(rèn)為,使用駱駝和云斯頓這些名稱和形象,“有可能會(huì)在消費(fèi)者中引起關(guān)于這些產(chǎn)品的來源、出產(chǎn)地或贊助的混淆、誤解,或欺騙。”
雷諾創(chuàng)新公司要求獲得未經(jīng)授權(quán)使用駱駝和云斯頓名稱和形象的賠償,以及SAS技術(shù)公司通過這些產(chǎn)品獲得的全部利潤。從11月5日起,作為雷諾創(chuàng)新公司訴訟目標(biāo)的香味產(chǎn)品已經(jīng)從SaveASmoker.com撤下。
這宗訴訟是在雷諾美國公司以名為Vuse的自有產(chǎn)品進(jìn)軍電子卷煙市場(chǎng)時(shí)提出的。而Vuse這個(gè)產(chǎn)品將由雷諾美國公司的子公司R.J.雷諾蒸汽公司生產(chǎn)。
雷諾美國公司總裁兼首席執(zhí)行官Daan Delen在10月舉行的一次電話會(huì)議上說:“正如你們所知,現(xiàn)在還是這些新產(chǎn)品的早期階段,但我們對(duì)它們的發(fā)展?jié)摿Ω械椒浅Ed奮。”
雷諾美國公司計(jì)劃在11月中旬舉行的投資者日?qǐng)?bào)告會(huì)上分享更多關(guān)于Vuse的信息。
評(píng)論:
在電子卷煙蓬勃發(fā)展的勢(shì)頭下,雷諾煙草公司也推出了自己的電子卷煙產(chǎn)品Vuse,然而卻鮮為人知。與此同時(shí),雷諾煙草公司和一家電子卷煙制造商打起了官司,指控對(duì)方的電子卷煙產(chǎn)品侵犯了雷諾的商標(biāo)權(quán)。商標(biāo)侵權(quán)問題一向受到關(guān)注,而雷諾煙草公司選擇在這個(gè)時(shí)間提起訴訟也讓人懷疑,這是否是雷諾煙草公司在為自己新推出的電子卷煙產(chǎn)品宣傳造勢(shì)?讓人們知道雷諾煙草公司也開始進(jìn)軍電子卷煙市場(chǎng)。總之,無論商標(biāo)官司的結(jié)果如何,雷諾煙草公司已經(jīng)達(dá)到了另一個(gè)目的:宣傳Vuse。
US: Reynolds American Accuses E-cig Maker of Trademark Infringement
Winston-Salem-based R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has sued e-cigarette maker SAS Technologies, accusing the company of infringing on its Camel and Winston brands.
SAS Technologies does business as SaveASmoker.com and promotes and sells flavored liquid nicotine products for use with electronic cigarettes. The lawsuit was filed last week in U.S. District Court in North Carolina by Reynolds Innovations Inc., a subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., which is itself part of Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI).
Reynolds Innovations claims that SaveASmoker.com is selling "E-Liquid" products with names such as "Camell Tobacco" and "Winston" among the different flavors of liquid nicotine products.
According to the lawsuit, Reynolds Innovations believes that the use of the Camel and Winston names and images "is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception among consumers as to the source, origin, or sponsorship of such products."
Reynolds Innovations is seeking the recover damages from the unauthorized use of the Camel and Winston names and images and all of the profits SAS Technologies generated from the products. As of Nov. 5, the flavors targeted by Reynolds Innovation had been removed from SaveASmoker.com.
The legal action comes at a time when RAI is entering the e-cigarette market with its own product, named Vuse, which will be produced by subsidiary R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.
"As you can understand, it's early days for these new products, but we're excited about their potential for growth," RAI President and CEO Daan Delen said during an earnings call last month.
RAI plans to share more about its Vuse brand during an Investor Day presentation next week. Enditem