Liverpool shopkeeper Nasser Afghrani has been threatened with legal action by supermarket giant Asda after cheekily naming his store NASDA.
Nasser opened his shop less than a month ago but was contacted by Asda demanding he change the name immediately. While he doesn't want to get into further legal trouble with the supermarket he admits that it'll be a struggle to change the name of his shop. He said: "What threat am I to them? I've only been open a few weeks and this extra cost is all I need."
Jan Vleck, chartered patent and registered trade mark attorney at Reddie & Grose said that attempts like Nasser's breach trademark law as they are taking advantage of the reputation of the original company. He said: "When the name is sufficiently close that it causes confusion amongst the public then it is infringing trademark law.
"The best course of action would be to change the name as soon as possible. If he persists with 'NASDA' then Asda could take him to court and potentially sue for lost earnings. If he changes the name now, the only cost he'll incur will be the alteration of the store sign."
Nasser opened his shop less than a month ago but was contacted by Asda demanding he change the name immediately. While he doesn't want to get into further legal trouble with the supermarket he admits that it'll be a struggle to change the name of his shop. He said: "What threat am I to them? I've only been open a few weeks and this extra cost is all I need."
Jan Vleck, chartered patent and registered trade mark attorney at Reddie & Grose said that attempts like Nasser's breach trademark law as they are taking advantage of the reputation of the original company. He said: "When the name is sufficiently close that it causes confusion amongst the public then it is infringing trademark law.
"The best course of action would be to change the name as soon as possible. If he persists with 'NASDA' then Asda could take him to court and potentially sue for lost earnings. If he changes the name now, the only cost he'll incur will be the alteration of the store sign."
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