William Hill must re-brand 32Vegas
The brand 32Vegas must be re-branded by William Hill after legal action was brought by 32Red. It appears that 32Red felt that its trademarks were being infringed due to the similarity in the brand name and as a result they sought legal advice on the matter in January 2011. A year later, and after an unsuccessful appeal, William Hill was ordered by the High Court to re-brand 32Vegas.
32Vegas was acquired by William Hill from gaming software developer Playtech at a cost of $250million. The High Court ruling has decided that 32Vegas not only infringes the trademark rights of 32Red, but also of the number 32 which forms part of the name and logo of said company. The legal tussle has taken three years and a verdict was finally reached last week. The verdict was the following:
• The trademarks 32 and 32Red are valid trademarks which cannot be infringed upon
• William Hill did infringe on the trademark brand 32Red with its use of 32Vegas
This verdict means that William Hill will have to pay a sum in the region of £70,000 for the legal costs arising from the court case as well as interest. The sum is payable directly to 32Red. CEO for 32Red, Ed Ware, could not hide his delight after the High Court dismissed William Hill’s appeal.
He mentioned that this judgement had protected 32Red’s Intellectual Property Rights against future attacks on its trademarks by other gaming operators. Furthermore, 32Red is now preparing to sue for damages to claim back monies it could have potentially lost due to the 32Vegas brand being in existence. Good luck to both parties involved and we hope they can both move on and continue to offer their usual great entertainment package.
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