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On 7/9/2003 2:10:12 PM rbjd wrote:
Why should EGL-USA be able to benefit from the longevity of the EGL name and at the same time exclude the REAL EGL from competition in the US market? Sounds like theft of trademark to me.----------------
According to EGL-USA, they own the US trademark for EGL. Thus the request to the Customs Department to block all non-US EGL certs at the border.
My search of the USPTO records indicates that, indeed, the US group has a registration for "E.G.L." in 1980, an active application for "European Gemological Laboratory," filed in 2001, and an application for the EGL logo filed in June of 2003. I'm guessing it's the last one they're hoping to use to block the certs.
What was interesting to me about that piece was that the other EGL folks didn't exactly dispute the trademark issue; instead, they argued that EGL-USA isn't really a separate entity, which strikes me as odd. Either it is or it isn't, and it ought to be fairly easy to establish it.
Edited to add:
Just realized something. "E.G.L." trademark is registered in 1980. EGL-USA becomes a separate entity in 1986. Big question becomes who got the rights? Indeed as Garry says, looks like a lot of cards yet to be played.
