What's in a name?

Lot’s if it involves trademark infringement.

Mr Lemonade, a Polish soft drink manufacturer that distributes its drinks to bars and restaurants across Europe and the UK, has changed its lemonade’s name from John Lemon to On Lemon following legal action instigated by Yoko Ono Lennon.

It was not only the name that led Yoko Ono to instigate the legal proceedings. While the two names, John Lemon and John Lennon, are similar, Mr Lemonade went further in using the legacy of Lennon to market its drink — a Facebook post by John Lemon Ireland showed a large wall mural of Lennon holding lemons with the brand’s logo underneath and other advertising depicted a pair of round glasses, closely linked with the famous Beatle, next to the words “Let It Be”.

Mr Lemonade registered its John Lemon trademark in 2014, while the John Lennon brand was not registered until 2016. However, as a start-up Mr Lemonade professed not to have the funds to fight the lawsuit, which was claiming damages in the range of 5000 euros a day and 500 euros for every bottle sold.

So when you name a product and choose a marketing strategy, you should be conscious that trademark infringement could land you on the wrong side of the law.