Third mobile operator Cell C has responded to reports regarding the provisional refusal of its new logo by the Registrar of Trademarks, saying that it was unaware of the refusal by the registrar and that it poses no threat to its new logo.
ITWeb broke the news yesterday that the registrar had issued the provisional refusal to Cell C's application on 2 August. While no reasons for the refusal was cited, legal experts pointed to the prevalence of the copyright symbol in the company's new logo as a possible cause.
Now the company has issued a statement saying the following:
“There has been a lot of debate about Cell C's new logo which we welcome. However, it is incorrect to state that Cell C's “logo has been rejected”. This is not the case. Cell C's application to register its logo as a trademark has been provisionally refused. The provisional refusal of trademark applications is not uncommon. As part of the trademark registration process, companies can make representations to the Registrar in response to the reasons for the provisional refusal.
“Prior to revealing the new logo, Cell C took legal advice from experts in the trademark field and followed all the relevant procedures in order to apply for the registration of the trademark. It must be noted that due to an administrative error by the Registrar, Cell C only received the official notification of provisional refusal and the reasons from the Registrar yesterday afternoon.
There are numerous well known brands and logos which are in daily use in South Africa which have not yet achieved final trademark registration status. In addition, even if an applicant does not ultimately succeed in registering a mark or logo as a trademark this does not stop the applicant from continuing to use the mark or logo.”
Lars P Reichelt - Cell C CEO
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