Saturday, May 1, 2010

Tune Group files trademark infringement suit

20 April 2010

PETALING JAYA: Tune Group has filed a suit against a company known as “I Tune Management (M) Sdn Bhd” for trademark infringement.

Tune Group, which operates AirAsia and Tune Hotels, is seeking an injunction to restrain the company from passing off any of its business as that of the group’s.

The group also wants the company to remove the name “Tune”, regardless of the prefix “I”, from its registration with the Registrar of Companies and take away the word “tune” from its website name “www.itunecard2u.webs.com”.

Lawyer George Miranda, who represented the group, filed the suit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court registry yesterday.

Tune Group is also set to take legal action against other companies it has identified for infringing on the “Tune” trademarks.

The group said it had received numerous enquiries from the public asking whether “I Tune Management (M) Sdn Bhd”, which was incorporated last year, was affiliated with the group.

“Upon further investigation, Tune Group discovered that the company was marketing products and services using the trademark ‘i Tune’ which is in bright red with the word ‘Tune’ slanting upwards from left to right,” it said in a statement yesterday.

“This has a strong resemblance to Tune Group’s ‘Tune’ trademarks.”

Miranda said there was “a high likelihood” of confusion among the public due to the similarity between the two trademarks.

“Furthermore, I Tune Management (M) Sdn Bhd’s act of using ‘i Tune’ as their trademark for identical or overlapping goods and services, namely travel packages and hotel reservations offered through its website, usurps Tune Group’s existing goodwill and reputation in similar industries,” he said.


The Star

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