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Ikea Sends IkeaHackers Blog a C&D Order

Posted by samzenpus on from the stop-it dept.

An anonymous reader writes Ikea has sent the IkeaHackers blog a C&D order over the usage of the Ikea name. IkeaHackers hosts articles on how to hack Ikea furniture to make it more useful in daily life. From the article: "Speaking to the BBC, an Ikea representative said: 'We feel a great responsibility to our customers and that they always can trust Ikea... many people want to know what really is connected to Ikea - and what isn't. And we think that people should have that right. When other companies use the Ikea name for economic gain, it creates confusion and rights are lost.'

4 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. Kind of see their point... by Kenja · · Score: 5, Informative

    Site uses the Ikea logo and colors and contains no disclaimer. I can see how people could mistake it for an "official" site.

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    1. Re:Kind of see their point... by tepples · · Score: 4, Informative

      The argument for nominative use of a trademark is much stronger if you use only the name "IKEA" in the same font as the rest of the logo, not the logo or trade dress. But then "FlatpackHackers" would have worked just as well, covering hacks to both IKEA and Sauder brands.

  2. Re:Confusion? Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Blame trademark law. They have to go after everybody or lose the mark.

  3. Re:Confusion? Really? by jo_ham · · Score: 4, Informative

    They spent eight years trying to convince the site to use something that didn't infringe IKEA's trademark, and only after all that did they finally decide to actually use the courts.

    So, maybe waiting 8 years and trying to work it out with these guys without suing them was the boneheaded move?