Last summer the Board of Appeal of the Finnish Patent Office had to give its decision in an opposition procedure concerning the right to the name “Hurriganes” (Case 2007/T/021). The dispute began when the lead singer of a Finnish band Hurriganes (the golden age of the band was between 1974 and 1980) applied for registration of the word mark Hurriganes in classes 25 and 41. However, right holders of the other former band members filed opposition against the application and claimed that actually they had the exclusive right to name Hurriganes as it was their established trademark. They also were of opinion that right to the sign Hurriganes belonged jointly to the band members or their heirs and therefore the registration of the sign Hurriganes as a trademark should have been accepted by all the right holders.

The National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland (NBPR) rejected the opposition and the opponents appealed. The appeal was based on the same grounds as the opposition with additional claim that the trademark was also conflicting with earlier trade name Hurriganes Company Ky Christer Häkkinen.

In its decision of June 22, 2009 the Board of appeal rejected the appeal. In addition to the reasoning of the NBPR, the Board stated that the fact that the band Hurriganes had been known since the 1970´s did not make the name of the band a sign that would have been used as a trademark in connection with any goods or services. Further, the Board explained that a band was not considered to be any legal person capable of having any rights or obligations. The Board also argued that the trademark Hurriganes was not the surname, alias, pseudonym or stage name of any of the appellants on which they could have based their claim on. Regarding the trade name Hurriganes Company Ky Christer Häkkinen, the Board did not find it to be in conflict with the trademark Hurriganes as the signs were different enough from each other and the goods and services covered by the application were not similar with the line of business of the trade name.

While the Football World Cup already seems like an event of a rather distant albeit recent past, psychic Octopus Paul, is still in the news.  While The Telegraph reports that Kazakh bookmakers are "furious at Paul" and blame him for "their paltry World Cup profits", Chinese website Xinhuanet reports that the Chinese comic suspense film "Kill Paul Octopus" will already open in Chinese cinemas in August.  To read our earlier reports on Paul trade marks, please click here and here.

Reason enough (well for Class 46 anyway...) to run another quick search on the German trade mark register to determine whether the German zoo Sea Life, where Paul (still) resides may itself have now decided to file a Paul trade mark application? And, indeed here they are: German trade marks for Krake Paul and Octopus Paul covering a broad specification in classes 9, 16, 18, 24, 25, 28, 29, 31, 35 and 41.

Rather a lot of Paul trade marks given he has official retired from football result prediciting.  So, can we hope for a comeback of psychic Paul?