how very pointless and petty..

[feicarsinn]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/7688142.stm

so youd expect NZRU to not be arseholes to a small enough club but i guess money talks and sh** walks..

 

[candybum]

Yup well... the NZRU f**king ****** me off. They are complete arse O's

 

[melon]

The All Blacks is a brand recognised the world over as being Kiwi. Its their livelihood.

NZRFU would never have cared until Launceston had decided to trademark a name which was made up 2/3 of the NZRFU's brand name.

I can see the absurd side of this and the reasoning Launceston has (which there argument is that they want protection against people making counterfeit kits), but how many people would actually want to buy the kit outside of the area, or even the country? Bugger all!

Like you say feicarsinn...the are a small enough club. What on earth would possess them to think they actually have the reasoning to NEED to trademark their name? They should just carry on without worrying about it.

 

[Bullitt]

I assume the New Zealand All Whites will be the next to bear the brunt of the NZRFUs trademark loving fury. Next maybe anyone who dare perform Kapa o Pango, y'know, because it was specifically choreographed for the ABs. Petty and pathetic. Take away the "NZ" part and it sounds like the doing of another well known orginisation.

*Orders Launceston shirt*

 

[RC]

Lookout Neath (the Welsh All Blacks) the NZRFU are keeping a close eye on ya!

 

[cyRil]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RC @ Oct 25 2008, 02:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Lookout Neath (the Welsh All Blacks) the NZRFU are keeping a close eye on ya![/b]

We've already been done mate! Had to drop our ***le about 4 years ago.


(Everyone still calls us the Welsh All Blacks, but sssssshhh!)

 

[An Tarbh]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RC @ Oct 25 2008, 03:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Lookout Neath (the Welsh All Blacks) the NZRFU are keeping a close eye on ya![/b]

yeah when I saw the topic initially I thought it was about Neath first, you can see it from the NZRFU's point of view though, cause people may stop associating the All Black brand with New Zealand and immediately think of Launceton and the ensuing choking of course.

 

[stumpy17]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (An Tarbh @ Oct 25 2008, 05:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RC @ Oct 25 2008, 03:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Lookout Neath (the Welsh All Blacks) the NZRFU are keeping a close eye on ya![/b]

yeah when I saw the topic initially I thought it was about Neath first, you can see it from the NZRFU's point of view though, cause people may stop associating the All Black brand with New Zealand and immediately think of Launceton and the ensuing choking of course.
[/b][/quote]

It leaves a sour taste in the mouth doesn't it.
I find it interesting that the NZRFU are so quick to leap on a Corish club the other side of the world for breaching on there "trade name" when there not at all concerned with the NZ mens basketball team or the NZ ladies netball teams who call themselves the "tall Blacks".
good play on words i thought but starnge of the nzrfu all the same.

 

[RC]

There's a group of hoodlams in the Bronx, NY that call themselves the All Blacks. They go about graffitying their name all over walls in the Bronx...i wonder if the NZRU will do anything about that.

 

[nam97]

This is a joke. I'm hating the NZRU more every single day. They're all morons, ex club rugby players with apprenticeships in concrete pouring, complete and utter meat heads.

 

[An Tarbh]

Mark my words, these Cornish pasties are sitting in the tall grass waiting to strike and grasp the mantle that is the All Blacks. Be warned!

 

[Zambaman]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

"In the professional era, the name "All Blacks" is a highly recognisable, and commercially valuable, brand, with the NZRFU relying heavily on it for its revenue which, in turn, is vital to sustaining rugby at all levels in New Zealand."

And he says that the NZRFU will defend themselves against anyone who tries to trade off the name "All Blacks".

"While imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, the NZRFU has no alternative but to oppose any efforts by third parties to claim legal rights in the All Blacks name, or to commercially benefit from their association with it," he said.[/b]

Pretty sure this is the crux of the issue here; the NZRU has to persue legal action as per commerical agreements (such as that signed with Adidas etc.) to protect the brandname. Otherwise if they don't and the name falls into general usage by other teams then the NZRU is unable enforce the trademark. Same reason why LEGO aggresively files legal action to stop people referring to stackable plastic blocks as "LEGO". It's really not a case of the NZRU being evil pricks like you all seem wont to believe.

 

[stumpy17]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zambaman @ Oct 26 2008, 07:18 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE

"In the professional era, the name "All Blacks" is a highly recognisable, and commercially valuable, brand, with the NZRFU relying heavily on it for its revenue which, in turn, is vital to sustaining rugby at all levels in New Zealand."

And he says that the NZRFU will defend themselves against anyone who tries to trade off the name "All Blacks".

"While imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, the NZRFU has no alternative but to oppose any efforts by third parties to claim legal rights in the All Blacks name, or to commercially benefit from their association with it," he said.[/b]

Pretty sure this is the crux of the issue here; the NZRU has to persue legal action as per commerical agreements (such as that signed with Adidas etc.) to protect the brandname. Otherwise if they don't and the name falls into general usage by other teams then the NZRU is unable enforce the trademark. Same reason why LEGO aggresively files legal action to stop people referring to stackable plastic blocks as "LEGO". It's really not a case of the NZRU being evil pricks like you all seem wont to believe.
[/b][/quote]

I understand where you are coming from with the whole commercial thing but the name itself is a nickname, an alter ego if you will, such as "the azzuri, the wallabies, the springboks or the pumas".

 

[Zambaman]

I'm not so sure. The NZRU changed the logo to remove the "New Zealand" from the old jerseys so that they could register as a trademark "All Blacks" with a stylised fern above it a few years ago (I'm thinking yearly 2000s, but it may have been late 90s). Now whether that's just for that combination or whether they've also got "All Blacks" as separately a registered trademark I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if they'd pulled off some funny business surrounding it given how protective they are and how much money they derive from the All Blacks brand. The Italians don't appear to refer to themselves in any logos or branding that I can find as "the azzuri" so they're not the same case here. Wallabies and Springboks probably aren't on the same trademark standing as the All Blacks because I'm fairly certain you typically can't register trademarks that are solely animal names. I don't profess to be an expert on the matter however so IP law in different countries may allow you to.

 

[gingergenius]

Screw Proteas, I think All Blacks would be a good name for the future of South African rugby.

Kiwis wouldn't be able to complain about that one...

 

[Prestwick]

Er...