Trademark “Jack” battle.

Actor Richard E Grant has just escaped a trademark battle with one of America’s biggest companies.

The name, to no surprise, was the cause of the battle. ‘Jack’, as a brand name, was hard to overcome due to its patriotic reference to the Union Jack. Plus however, each bottle was placed in the sleeve of a Union Jack draw string bag.

Aggressive letters were sent to Mr Grant concerning the name and threatened to sue him. The claim was that the name ‘Jack’ was too alike to one of their branded perfumes.

After taking advice from three different lawyers, he agreed to stand his ground and go to court on the matter.

Grant recalls that after “sleepless nights” the firm withdrew the claim prior to the trial and Mr Grant was responsible for all legal costs but was allowed to keep the perfumes name as “Jack”.

Theresa Wright