Sharper Imaging Products is a Los Angeles based company that supplies an array of OEM and compatible printer, fax and copier consumables; while The Sharper Image is an American company that sells consumer electronics and gift products.
The Sharper Image said the supplier’s name is too similar to it’s own, and could potentially cause confusion amongst consumers.
However Sharper Imaging Products’ lawyer Lee Lubin respectfully declined the demand in a reply letter, stating that there is “no reasonable concern that our client’s mark has a likelihood of confusion with the Sharper Image mark”.
Lubin argued that there are significant differences between the brand names, product-lines, marketing campaigns and websites of the respective companies.
Likewise, although Sharper Imaging Products had recently registered “The Sharper Image” for ink and cartridges, the other company doesn’t sell any imaging products.
Lubin also argued that the companies’ names are not identical, “so for The Sharper Image to have a legitimate claim, there would have to be a close resemblance between the two brand names as well as a correlation between the companies’ respective products.
He also pointed out that the name is not unique, and that several other companies use similar branding.
A corporation’s brand is an abstract concept that symbolizes and embodies the values of the company that it represents. Branding was once the preserves of clothes and drinks companies but this case demonstrates the importance of a company’s brand in every sector of the market.