list of contributors - GALA

Comments: Although this is good news for advertisers, we should add one word
of caution. Don’t expect the UK trade marks registry to suddenly go
soft on slogans that are not a ‘badge of origin’. Or to put it another
way: “If you want a trade mark registration for your slogan? Come
to sunny Alicante!”
8. Self-Regulation
Topic: Misleading Advertising
Who: Office of Fair Trading
When: Winter 2004
What Happened: A twenty first century British Expeditionary Force has once again ventured
into plucky little Belgium to keep dear old Blighty safe from Johnny
Foreigner. And this time, it really was all over by Christmas.
In December, the Office of Fair Trading obtained an injunction in Brussels
against a Belgian company that had been sending about one million mailings
every month into the UK, purporting to be notifications of large prize wins -
typically £10,000 - which would be paid out when the recipient placed an
order from the accompanying catalogue. In reality, the punters were placed
into a prize draw whose winners had been pre-selected, and most of them
ended up with nothing. The fact that the company received 4,000 orders
every day suggests that the old adage about there being one born every
minute was probably an under-estimate.
The sting in the tail for the company concerned, D. Duchesne, who trade in
the UK as TV Direct and Just 4 You, is that they will be fined 25,000 Euros
(about £17,250) every time they breach the injunction.
Comments: This is the first time that cross border court action has been taken in Europe
by the regulators using their powers under the Injunctions Directive. When
the OFT’s request for an undertaking to comply with the Misleading
Advertising Directive was refused, an injunction application was its only
alternative.