Legal bid to protect legacy of Liverpool’s Cavern Club
A LEGAL battle has broken out to protect the legacy of Liverpool’s most famous club, The Cavern.
Birkenhead-based Forresters Intellectual Property Law Firm has launched an appeal to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office over the use of “The Cavern Club” trademark in Canada.
The present owners of the “The Cavern Club”, the Liverpool-based Cavern City Tours Limited, registered the trade mark in Canada in 2006.
The trade mark protection that was granted then covered clothing, entertainment and musical performances, night club services, DJs and cabaret.
In order for a trade mark to receive registered protection in Canada it has to be seen to be in use.
Following an application earlier this year by a Canada-based company stating that Cavern City Tours do not use “The Cavern Club” trade mark in relation to music services, the Canadian IP Office ruled that trade mark protection should no longer apply to “The Cavern Club“, deeming the trade mark registered by Cavern City Tours as ‘inactive’.
Unless the current appeal in Canada is successful the only trade mark protection afforded to Cavern City Tours in the future will be in relation to T-shirts. Music performances and venues could potentially be marketed as “The Cavern Club or “The Cavern” without having any relation or loyalty to the original brand.
Kara Bearfield, trade mark attorney at Forresters’ Merseyside office said this has the potential to undermine the legacy of The Cavern Club and even have a bearing on its future.
“This is clearly a case of another company trying to piggyback on the success of a globally recognised cult brand. The Cavern is known the world over as the cradle of British pop music, and the place that launched the career of The Beatles. The Canadian applicant knows there is an obvious commercial advantage of marketing under the reputation of the Cavern brand,” she said.
“The Cavern Club is a Liverpool icon which is known all over the world for its enduring musical legacy. We are committed to protecting the integrity of the Cavern and its legendary position in British popular music. This is a brand that has had a global impact for more than 50 years; and we are very keen to ensure that its global reputation is protected now and in the future”.
Forresters will provide evidence, on behalf of Cavern City Tours, showing how the Cavern trade mark was used in Canada from 2006 to 2009 and the significant commercial activity behind the brand.
Ms Bearfield added: “To revoke our trade mark protection on the basis of inactivity is legally questionable. Plans by Cavern City Tours to open a Cavern Club in Canada are underway and have been for some time. The process has been slow, but nevertheless, ongoing. It is a very frustrating position for the brand owner to be in.”
It may take up to a year for the Canadian Intellectual Property Office to reach a decision on the basis of the Cavern City Tours appeal which was launched earlier this month. Until that decision is reached the situation in Canada regarding who may use the “The Cavern” and “The Cavern Club” has reached a stalemate.
