German and international media report that polar bear Knut has become the latest victim of the credit crunch or should we say "credit freeze". Class 46 readers will recall Knut's rise to global fame and the trade mark issues surrounding the marketing of Knut and other high profile (polar) bears. To refresh your memory, please click here to read "Knut, Flocke & Co: the bear facts revealed" published by Oxford University Press in the December 2008 issue of the Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice, (JIPLP). The tongue-in-cheek article discusses many legal and commercial aspects surrounding the registration of the names of polar bear cubs as trade marks.

The Independent reports that conservative estimates now put the revenue earned through the marketing of the polar at €10m (£8.5m). Nevertheless, Berlin zoo, where Knut was born and has so far been living, has recently announced that Knut will leave the Berlin zoo as early as 2010. The zoo has cited financial difficulties as the main reason. Knut currently shares the zoo's polar bear enclosure with four other bears and to keep Knut in Berlin, the zoo would have to raise 9m Euro to build a more spacious home for the bear and a potential mate. Unfortunately, and to the dismay of many (Berlin) polar bear fans, the city of Berlin appears to be close to bankruptcy. A Berlin zoo spokesperson is cited as having said: "We cannot afford it in such times of economic strain". To make things worse, after Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's Environment Minister, has withdrawn his official patronage of Knut, the free supply of fodder that came with the patronage, has also come to an end.


However, things have never been straight forward with Knut and it is not much of a surprise that third party rights are involved. Under a "breeding agreement" with the Neumuenster zoo, which owns Knut's father Lars, it is Neumuenster zoo who has the right to Knut. Neumuenster zoo manager Peter Druewa is quoted by The Associated Press as having said that "... if Berlin doesn't want to build a new enclosure — or expand one of the existing ones — we'll need to find a new place for him." Still, superstar Knut still has massive pulling power and it appears that zoos from across Europe are keen to take him on. German media has already mentioned several potential new homes for Knut: Tierpark Neumuenster, where Knut's father Lars lives, Zoom Erlebniswelt in Germany and Hanover Zoo. There also appears to be interest from other European zoos in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and even Spain. At the moment, the favourite candidate appears to be Gelsenkirchen Zoo, which not only appears to have ample space but is also the home of the young female polar bear Lara. In the meantime, thousands of Berliners have started lobbying to keep cuddly Knut - who will celebrate his second birthday tomorrow - in the German capital.


Class46 will keep on checking the German trade mark register to see whether this latest installment in the Knut saga has any trade mark implications.