Letter to the editor
Dear Sir/Madam,
We act for Best & Less Pty Limited and for Retail Holdings S.a.r.l.
We refer to an article entitled ‘Mango’s fruit of labour turns sour’ written by Assia Benmedjdoub and published in the 10 September edition of Ragtrader.
We write to notify you of a number of factual inaccuracies published in that article. These are as follows:
1. The article states that Best & Less has filed a notice of opposition to the Australian trade mark application for ‘MNG By Mango’. In fact, Best & Less has merely filed an extension of time to oppose the ‘MNG by Mango’ trade mark. No opposition has been filed.
2. The article cites Trevor Choy who opines that it is an unusual case because “Best and Less does not appear to own a mark under the name Mango or any other name that is deceptively similar”. Best & Less Limited is in fact the exclusive licensee for a range of registered marks for the ‘Mango’ brand which registrations are owned by Retail Holdings S.a.r.l.
3. The article provides that “Mango currently has several trademarks registered under the MNG/Mango banner in Australia”. This is incorrect. The applicant for the MNG by Mango trade mark, Consolidated Artists BV, does not have, and has never registered any Australian trade marks which include the word ‘Mango’.
Yours Faithfully, TressCox.
Editor’s note: It should be noted Best & Less was contacted on several occasions regarding key points in the story and the case at hand, but declined to comment. Regarding point two, the story referenced Best & Less as a stockist of lifestyle brand Mango, but revealed it did not directly own any marks under this name. TressCox itself has confirmed the marks are owned by Mango licensee Retail Holdings S.a.r.l. Regarding points one and three, Ragtrader has published a detailed case history (right) extracted from IP Australia in the interests of transparency.
13-AUG-2010 Under Opposition Update
10-AUG-2010 Declaration Correspondence
10-AUG-2010 Extension Opp. Correspondence
13-MAY-2010 Accepted Applications for Registration of Trade Mark Advert
25-APR-2010 Amend Status from Under Examination- General Provisions for Extension Update
10-MAR-2010 Extend acceptance
date (was 05/03/2010) Update
05-MAR-2010 Adverse Report - Approved Report No. 2
05-MAR-2010 Approve further Adverse report Update
05-MAR-2010 Stat Dec. Correspondence
05-MAR-2010 Extension Acc. Correspondence
17-FEB-2010 Stat Dec. Correspondence
17-FEB-2010 Exam Response Correspondence
09-FEB-2010 Extend acceptance
date (was 05/02/2010) Update
05-FEB-2010 Stat Dec. Correspondence
05-FEB-2010 Extension Acc. Correspondence
23-NOV-2009 Amend Address for Correspondence Update
23-NOV-2009 Correction to Name and/or Address Update
19-NOV-2009 Amend Trade Mark Registration Particulars Correspondence
10-NOV-2009 Extend acceptance
date (was 05/11/2009) Update
05-NOV-2009 Amend Status from Under Examination – Extension Fees
Required Update
05-NOV-2009 Stat Dec. Correspondence
05-NOV-2009 Extension Acc. Correspondence
05-NOV-2009 Stat Dec. Correspondence
05-NOV-2009 General correspondence Acceptance Correspondence
19-AUG-2009 Extend acceptance
date (was 05/08/2009) Update
05-AUG-2009 Extension of time Correspondence
06-MAY-2009 Amend Address for Service Update
05-MAY-2009 Amend Status from Under Examination – Extension Fees Not Required Update
04-MAY-2009 Extend acceptance
date (was 05/05/2009) Update
04-MAY-2009 Amend T/M Application particulars Correspondence
01-MAY-2009 Extension of time Correspondence
27-JAN-2009 12 mth standard notice sent to International Bureau – possible refusal based on opposition Update
05-FEB-2008 Adverse Report – Approved Report No. 1
05-FEB-2008 Class 35 Goods and Services Update
05-FEB-2008 Class 25 Goods and Services Update
05-FEB-2008 Classes before Amendment
3,9,14,25,35 Update
05-FEB-2008 Class 18 Goods and Services Update
05-FEB-2008 Classes before Amendment 3,9,14,18,25,35 Update
05-FEB-2008 Class 14 Goods and Services Update
05-FEB-2008 Class 9 Goods and Services Update
05-FEB-2008 Amend Status from Taken for Examination Update
05-FEB-2008 Acceptance date Update
01-FEB-2008 Amend Status from Indexing Approved Update
01-FEB-2008 Expedition of Application Update
24-JAN-2008 Amend Status from Indexed Update
24-JAN-2008 Amend Status from Filed – Approved Update
24-JAN-2008 Approve Filing Update
24-JAN-2008 Madrid Import Application – 6 classes Correspondence