Hungarian manufacturer about the future of Rubik’s Cube trademark

Within the framework of the EU’s trademark law and copyright legislation, the brand of the world-famous invention is still protected in the European Union.

“It is definitely untrue and seriously misleading that Rubik’s Cube can be freely manufactured or sold by anyone,” commented János Kovács, Managing Director of Artrade Ltd., to Világgazdaság, reacting to the decision of the European Council, according to which the cancellation of the Magic Cube’s EU trademark has been approved.

In Hungary, the company is the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of the original Rubik’s Cube and other relating products.

Last Thursday, the European Council rejected the petition of Rubik’s Brand in London (this company possesses the global manufacturing right of Ernő Rubik’s invention) while approved the decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) claiming that the core features of the cube’s trademark are invalid. Previously, the cancellation of the Rubik’s Cube trademark had already been requested by the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office.

According to János Kovács, “the three-dimensional marks are valid and enforceable; no authority or court has commanded the invalidation or cancellation of its trademark.”

He also added that the Hungarian invention is under copyright protection in several EU Member States, most recently it was approved in the Netherlands. The cube is considered to be a copyright-protected work in Hungary as well.

The Executive Director emphasised that copyright protection law has been aggravated recently by the European Parliament. The measure was necessary due to the fact that in the past, unlimited copies of other’s intellectual properties could be made by tricking the system.

Source: vg.hu