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Is this squirrel a danger to the public?

22 April 2013
Is this squirrel a danger to the public?

The Russian language is rich in idiomatic expressions. Russians are also known for their consumption of vodka, sometimes inordinate consumption. An application was filed recently for a combined trade mark with the word element «Squirrel — Here I Am» in class 33, Vodka. The word 'squirrel' is at the top of the picture and 'here I am' is under the claws. This will mean nothing to a foreigner. He/she will only wonder at the somewhat strange expression of the squirrel’s face with its rolled-out eyes and bared ugly teeth.

To understand the meaning of the trade mark it is necessary to explain the background of the expression. When a person abuses alcohol drunkenness may ensue. The Russian technical term for this is belaya goryachka (white hot). The first word (belaya) is slightly similar to the diminutive for a squirrel (belochka). Hence, drunkenness is often jocularly called belochka in Russia.

Anyway, when the application came to the examiner of the Patent Office he was so impressed that he refused the application, arguing that it contradicted public interests, that it could cause indignation in the public, and so on. Aside from the public interest, the examiner also stated that the dominating element in the claimed designation was the stylised image of a squirrel with rolled-out eyes and bared teeth, which produces a negative impression.

The applicant appealed the decision to the Chamber of Patent Disputes. Surprisingly (or not?) the Chamber reversed the decision and ruled to register the trade mark. One of the arguments put forward was that the negative impression caused by the picture of the squirrel was quite subjective.

In order to add spice to the situation it should also be mentioned that the Russian Ministry of Health had launched a feature on YouTube called Squirrel in Hell as part of its anti-alcohol campaign.

That had been done before the trade mark application was filed. In the video a squirrel jumps around a room and tries to catch imagined spiders on the walls. It gained popularity on the internet and the vodka producers seemed to want to ride on that popularity. It is impressive how they managed to reverse the message of the campaign in their favour.

The trade mark is also registered in the United States and other countries, although the above implications are hardly likely to be understood by people abroad without reading this feature.

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