Crocodile Thunderdome: Two dentists enter, Lacoste leaves

Just in, the news that two Cheltenham, England dentists — Dr. Tim Rumney and Dr. Simon Moore — have defeated mighty clothing giant Lacoste in a legal battle royale over the trademark Lacoste reptile.

Long story short: In 2004 the dentists tried to register the logo of their practice (top) but ran into resistance from lawyers for Lacoste, who said it was too much like their iconic crocodile (below).

Now, more than three years after the dispute began, the U.K. Intellectual Property Office has rejected Lacoste's argument and ordered it to pay a total of £1,450 ($4,110 Singapore; $2,867 USD) in legal costs for both the original hearing and an appeal.

Here's the full story from today's Electric New Paper News out of Singapore.

Lacoste loses logo fight against dentists

Fashion giant tries to block use of UK dental surgery's crocodile logo although it looks different

The dentists have won.

That about sums up the almost three-year battle between French fashion giant Lacoste and a dental practice in Cheltenham, England, over a crocodile logo.

Lacoste had argued that the image of a crocodile — even on a dental surgery - could be mistaken for its own emblem, causing confusion among shoppers and people who need a tooth filling, reported The Times.

This was despite the fact that the dental surgery's crocodile was plain green with white teeth, while Lacoste's crocodile does not have white teeth but a gaping red mouth instead.

Lacoste argued that the two logos could be confused, which would harm their business, said the report.

However, two judges ruled last year that there would be no confusion.

The tale began in September 2004, when Dr Tim Rumney and Dr Simon Moore, the two principal practitioners at the surgery, tried to register their logo.

They chose a crocodile 'because of the natural association with teeth,' according to Dr Moore.

Crocodiles are known for their well-kept incisors.

'They have little birds that pick bits out of their teeth,' DrMoore said.

He added: 'A lot of practices had quite modest logos — often just a sketch of their building.'

Lawyers from Lacoste, however, insisted that the crocodile had a different association in the public's mind and that it represented their range of clothes and accessories.

The dentists represented themselves at the first hearing in May.

Among their arguments: That people were not likely to mistake their single-storey brick building behind a car park and next to a petrol station for a boutique selling Lacoste fashions.

The judge ruled in their favour.

Lacoste appealed but lost, and was ordered to pay a total of £1,450 ($4,110) in legal costs for both hearings.

This is not the first time it has been involved in a trademark dispute.

In April last year, it got into a battle with Singapore-based clothing company Crocodile in China. Crocodile took it to court for registering a 'left-facing' crocodile, saying it was too similar to the Singapore firm's trademark.

Lacoste said then it had no intention of using a left-facing logo.

....................

[Thanks to Russ Thomson for the currency clarification ($Singapore v $US)]