Representatives of Ukrainian esports player Oleksandr «s1mple» Kostylev have asked Simple SkateBoarding to change the brand name. The lawyers were not happy that on one skateboard model, the letter «i» in the name was replaced with «1».
Representatives of Ukrainian esports player Oleksandr «s1mple» Kostylev have asked Simple SkateBoarding to change the brand name. The lawyers were not happy that on one skateboard model, the letter «i» in the name was replaced with «1».
Simple SkateBoarding announced this on their Instagram.
«Interesting situation. A lawyer from Alexander „s1mple“ Kostylev approached us with a proposal to voluntarily abandon the name Simple Skateboarding, because they have a registered trademark S1mple. If we do not refuse, they will file a lawsuit and complaints with Instagram to block the account», — the skateboard manufacturers noted.
Simple SkateBoarding said they do not believe they have infringed on anyone else’s rights and «will fight back». The company also posted a screenshot of a message from s1mple’s lawyer.
«Your name „Simple skateboarding“ is used and registered in similar classes (25, 28). At the same time, your use of the number „1“ instead of the letter „i“ without the word „skateboarding“ only increases the risk of confusion for consumers», — the post says.
Simple SkateBoarding does not use the «1» instead of the «i» in its name or logo, but the company previously released one board that used that spelling. It is part of a collaboration between Ukrainian clothing brand Algorithm Kyiv and Dutch brand Simple. It is noted that the design for the collection was created by illustrator Danya SHU.
However, s1mple’s lawyers are asking the company to voluntarily abandon the entire trademark No. m202418366. Simple SkateBoarding points out that there are many trademarks «simple» in Ukraine, as they use the spelling without replacing «i» with «1», which is present in the player’s nickname and is registered in his TM.
