Abercrombie & Kent obtained a temporary restraining order to prevent the former CC Africa from using the ampersand (“&”) in its new name “&Beyond” pending resolution of a trademark infringement suit over the right to use the ampersand as a trademark. According to &Beyond, it retains the right to use its new logo, but under the temporary restraining order has ceased using the ampersand in its brand in any other context. To comply with the court order, the company had to change its website address to “www.andbeyond.com”  and print new brochures and documents without the ampersand. &Beyond said it is fighting the suit.

A&K filed the suit against &Beyond on the grounds that A&K has been using a large ampersand as a separate design mark to be universally applied in the marketing and sale of the company’s products on ads, brochures and its website since December 2007, at which time A&K registered the trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A&K asserts that CC Africa/&Beyond’s use of the brand is a case of trademark infringement and that travel agents have told A&K that the appearance of a second product using the “&” as a brand caused confusion between the products of the two different companies.

Under U.S. trademark law, the right to a trademark is established by use of that trademark. If A&K can establish that it was using the trademark first, its right to use the trademark would supersede that of the former CC Africa, which first introduced the brand in October. But to establish a case of trademark infringement the claimant must prove not only that the claimant used the trademark prior to the defendant, but also that the existence of the two trademarks created confusion in the marketplace. A&K said that it was travel agents who first brought the confusion to its attention. According to A&K, when attempts to resolve the problem through negotiation were unsuccessful, it filed in court for a temporary restraining order. Since the issue is in litigation, A&K said it preferred not to comment further. For more information on A&K, visit www.abercrombiekent.com . For more information on &Beyond, visit www.andbeyond.com.

Reader Comments

& isn't this stupid? I see no confusion whatsoever between the names. It is "A&K" not "&AK". The letters are not similar. A&K uses initials AND &Beyond uses a word. Aren't we dealing with enough problems in the travel industry without A&K suing another company for the use of the ampersand? Susan, WA

What I find amazing is that if you Google "& travel" you'll get 738 million sites. Now that's ambiguity.Pete,

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