DED defends TT trademark stance

Department explains brand's value

The department of economic development is defending its stance over the use of the TT trademark.

In a statement, it says it has a 'duty to protect the brand' after accusations it had gone too far.

It comes after a DED official turned up on site to an Island gift shop after it was reported a number of handmade products breached the event logo and used the TT initials.

Other cases have been thrust into the spotlight in recent months - most notably when brewery Bushy's was warned not to use the initials on its promotional materials.

An agreement was later reached between the two parties.

The trademark row also made the headlines in April when it emerged charity RNLI was charged £250 for license to use the official TT logo on its pin badges.

Owner of the giftshop involved in this latest incident is Christine Howson.

She says the department's actions seem over the top:

Here is the DED statement in full:

The Department has a duty to protect the brand of the Isle of Man TT in all its various forms and the commercial relationships we have in place. As part of this, the Department regularly takes action to inform people who may have breached the TT brand and, in some cases, take further action to ensure commercial goods are licensed accordingly.

In the case of The Manx Crafters Gift Shop, the Department was notified in March that there appeared to be use of the brand commercially without a licence.  

In line with any other such complaint, the Department visited the shop to discuss the issues raised and the shop was advised that certain items were in breach of the trademark and/or word marks.  The Department also offered advice on what can and can’t be used and suggested that The Manx Crafters Gift Shop may wish to get their suppliers to apply for a licence - at no time were any such costs of a relevant licence discussed.

The Department needs to balance protecting the brand with the encouragement of local support and engagement.   However as a public body it has to apply a consistent approach across all the uses of the brand and the jurisdictions the brand is registered in as how it deals with any potential misuse.

If the Department doesn’t act in some form knowing that a breach has occurred, it runs the risk of losing both the brand and any value that the Department and official licensees can derive from it.

Although individual cases highlight some of the challenges in finding this balance, the Department’s licensing policy is currently under review, with special consideration being given to charitable causes who might wish to use the TT brand.

The Department would like to take this opportunity to remind anyone considering using either the TT Logo or the word mark TT for commercial goods to discuss the use with it in the first instance.