KMK Law Intellectual Property Blog

Another day, another case of a company not bothering to see how its new trademark translates into the native languages of its intended consumers. Seriously, this happens entirely too often to be excusable, particularly now that the blogosphere can pick a company apart for its little faux-pas.

Today’s contestant is Audi — the German manufacturer of luxury automobiles. The trademark in question is “e-TRON” for a new line of electric sports cars. I won’t spoil the surprise here, because Autoblog has this one well-covered, complete with a hi-res shot of Audi’s rather comely little ride. Click here to check it out (unless you speak French, in which case, you’ve spoiled your own surprise).

The lesson here, as always, is make sure you’ve tested your new trademark with the relevant consumers, and if you have a global product in mind, make sure you clear the translation of the mark for connotation purposes.

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