Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

Rolex demand children’s clock startup change name in trademark dispute

by January 19, 2023
January 19, 2023
Rolex demand children’s clock startup change name in trademark dispute

With its colourful numbers and hands helpfully labelled minute and hour, a children’s learning clock from Oyster & Pop, a family firm in Devon, is sold online for about £20. A Rolex Oyster watch, on the other hand, calls itself a “superlative chronometer” and costs nearer £5,000.

Rolex is demanding that the smaller company change its name, however, arguing that people might think the Teignmouth children’s clocks have something to do with the Swiss watchmaker.

Oyster & Pop, which also sells wall charts, fraction sets and highlighters, was set up in 2021 by Emma Ross-McNairn and her sister Sarah Davies. The company is named after Oyster Bend in Torbay, where they grew up.

Lawyers for Rolex, which is based in Geneva, wrote to Oyster & Pop in early January to demand they rebrand. Rolex claims it is a similar name to its Oyster Perpetual line of watches.

The company says that the “average, reasonably well-informed consumer” would probably call the Rolex line of watches to mind when looking at the Oyster & Pop logo.

The letter added: “Consumers will inevitably be misled into thinking that your products emanate from Rolex.”

As a result the lawyers have demanded the firm change its logo, website domain and name to avoid further action.

Ross-McNairn, 46, said the situation was “nonsense” and that the lawyer’s letters had been “bullish”.

She told the BBC: “If someone says oyster to me, the first thing I think of is the Oyster Card on the Tube, not Rolex watches. I don’t think anyone could confuse our clocks as coming from Rolex.”

The Rolex Oyster was introduced in 1926 as the first waterproof watch. The Oyster Perpetual appeared in 1933 as the first waterproof automatic watch. James Bond wore one in Ian Fleming’s original books — it gets a name check in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service — although Bond wears a Rolex Submariner in the films.

Oyster & Pop says on its website: “With the help of some teacher friends, we designed a clock to inspire kids to learn how to read analogue time whilst also making great looking wall decor.”

It is the second time Rolex has pursued the company. It previously beat the sisters by default in a trademark dispute in the US after Oyster & Pop was unable to pay for a legal battle over the issue.

Rolex USA lawyers had told the sisters that changing their category filing from International Class (IC) 14 for clocks to IC28 Toys and Games would resolve the issue.

However, the sisters say now they have made the change, lawyers have since decided that this would no longer be enough.

Ross-McNairn, who founded the business during lockdown in 2020, says that the rebranding would “crush” their small business.

She has started a petition on change.org which says: “We believe that there is no risk of anyone confusing us with Rolex.

“We don’t think that Rolex should be allowed to stop us from using a name that is not only substantially different from theirs but has personal connections to us as the founders of a small business. Rebranding would destroy Oyster & Pop.”

Read more:
Rolex demand children’s clock startup change name in trademark dispute

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Democratic kingmaker Clyburn ‘all-in’ for Biden 2024, issues warning against primary challengers
next post
Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder’s $60M bribery trial to begin next week

You may also like

Exploring the Vision Behind FreeOfficeFinder: A Conversation with...

August 13, 2024

Lower borrowing bill gives Jeremy Hunt a boost...

November 21, 2023

Equal pay lawsuits threaten to cost retailers millions...

October 26, 2024

UK SME’s ‘to be offered growth loans’ as...

September 26, 2022

Views of different nations on Cryptocurrency and Blockchain

September 20, 2022

Discover Your Dream Home: A Guide to Travel...

February 11, 2025

Government urged to review £2bn in Fujitsu contracts...

January 11, 2024

Sweatband.com founder Maz Darvish exits to launch AI-technology company, CognitionHub

September 14, 2023

Ofgem hits SSE with £9.78m fine after breaching...

July 25, 2023

Christmas parties cancelled because of rail strikes

December 7, 2022

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • WATCH: Trump says he is hopeful Hillary Clinton will be investigated for election fraud

      August 1, 2025
    • Trump moves nuclear submarines weeks after praising sub’s power in Iran strikes

      August 1, 2025
    • Recess on ice as Republicans hunker down for high-stakes nominee blitz

      August 1, 2025
    • Iran says it has ‘plenty of scientists’ left to restart uranium enrichment, despite US, Israeli strikes

      August 1, 2025
    • No, Tariffs Are Not Similar to Consumption Taxes Like a VAT

      August 1, 2025
    • Trump repositions 2 nuclear submarines after ‘highly provocative’ Russian comments

      August 1, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,651)
    • Investing (2,168)
    • Politics (16,281)
    • Stocks (3,228)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved