Thread: Npower And Westminster Council In Legal Battle Over The Word “Juice”

Npower is being urged to back down by Westminster City Council in a battle with which has seen the local authority threatened with legal action for calling its electric car recharging points 'juice points'.The energy giant, which claims the council's recharging points could confuse its own customers using its green energy tariff 'Npower Juice', has ordered the council to drop the word juice, as their own 'Juice' is a "market-leading iconic brand".The Mayor of London, who part-funds the council's recharging points aimed at encouraging more electric and hybrid cars into the capital, has urged Npower to settle the dispute.Sir Simon Milton, Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning, said: "The Mayor believes electric and hybrid cars are an important part of London's efforts in tackling pollution, and supports the introduction of on street recharging points. We are therefore disappointed that a major company such as Npower is making matters difficult for a local authority which is seeking to encourage more environmentally friendly travel."Westminster City Council has pioneered a network of electric recharging points, and was the first local authority in the UK to install free on-street points in the UK in December 2006. In May last year it added a further ten and branded them 'juice points' - bringing its total tally of recharging points for electric and hybrid vehicles to 60.There are plans to add a further six this year, and the Mayor of London has already pledged £395,000 to double the number across the capital to 175 by 2010.Cllr Danny Chalkley, Westminster council's cabinet member for environment and transport, said : "Npower has shown complete disregard for the environmental aspects of our scheme. As a central London authority air pollution is a major public health concern for us, and our 'juice points' are a key element in encouraging the switch to less polluting forms of transport."Some of the arguments they've made in defence of their actions, such as their 'juice' being a 'market leading iconic brand' are complete nonsense, and do not stand up to any scrutiny. It's illogical to claim our juice points are confusing to their customers."If it wasn't for the very real costs the council faces if this went to court, and the time and effort we will waste rebranding to prevent that, their actions would be laughable. Their legal threats are contrary to all common sense and show they are out of step with the public mood. What next? Threats to Tropicana for referring to their drinks as orange juice?"Npower's legal claim is based on their registration of the name 'Npower Juice' as a trademark for its green energy tariff, though legal experts have questioned the validity of any claim over a commonly used English word.An independent lawyer specialising in intellectual property law, Dr Peter Groves, from CJ Jones Solicitors, said: "I fail to understand why the Registry allowed Npower to register any "juice" trade marks at all for a list of goods that includes electricity or any other power source, at least without a disclaimer over the descriptive word "juice".A spokesperson for Npower comments: â??We wish Westminster Council every possible success with their recharging initiatives but would prefer that they use their name and not ours. We're really proud of our Juice trademark. We originally developed Juice in conjunction with Greenpeace back in 2001 and we think there is real potential for confusion with our customers believing it is our Juice electricity which supplies the Westminster recharging points. It is disappointing that the Council do not seem to have carried out routine trade mark checks before launching their programme.â??

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