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A notebook made from recycled paper - one of the products on Greenthegap.com

Meet the small Indian recycler in trademark war with Gap

Green the Gap has three stores in India and sells home decor and accessories made out of waste. Gap has asked them to change their brand.

AN INDIAN RECYCLING company which uses junk to create accessories is fighting a legal trademark suit launched by US clothing giant Gap Inc demanding that the firm change its name.

Green the Gap, an Indian company which runs three stores in the country, mainly sells accessories and home decor items made out of waste including beer cans, rubber tyres and fruit cartons.

Vimlendu Jha, founding owner of the firm, which also sells clothing for other brands, accused Gap in an interview last Friday of seeking to “bully” a small Indian company.

In March, the owners were slapped with a legal notice by Gap asking them to change their name and remove any reference to the company from their labels within 14 days.

A month later, the US retailer told the Indian firm it could keep its name for registration purposes but must remove any mention of Gap in their labelling and on their website, Jha said.

“Gap said our company is infringing upon their branding and that we are riding on their goodwill to create confusion in the minds of buyers,” Jha told AFP.

We were shocked and angered that a company of that size and stature and supposed respectability is getting threatened by a small business.

The legal notice, a copy of which was seen by AFP, said Gap was “seriously concerned” about the adoption of its “well-known trademark” by the Indian entity.

K&S Partners, the law firm that issued the notice on behalf of Gap, was not immediately available for comment.

But Gap said it “does not comment on pending litigation” in response to an email query from AFP.

Greenthegap.com
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  • Greenthegap.com

  • Gap.com

Jha added that Green the Gap’s name was an environmental reference.

“We wanted to ask people is it possible to consume less and can we consume green? We upcycle trash which means we add value to junk by creating a new and useful product,” he said, adding that the idea of competing with Gap was nowhere in their minds.

“For us ‘gap’ is a word in the English language that means void, absence. How can you monopolise a common English word?

“Next we will hear we can’t use apple and orange in our lexicon. This is plain ridiculous.”

He said the company was now in verbal negotiations with Gap to try to settle the dispute.

Jha launched Green the Gap five years ago as part of Swechha, an Indian advocacy group he set up to pursue environmental sustainability and proper pay for workers.

The name was inspired by a Swechha education scheme known as Bridge the Gap, said Jha.

Foreign investment

Gap, which is the largest casual wear retailer in the United States with annual sales of over $15 billion, has some 3,000 outlets in 90 countries across the world. It also owns global brands such as Old Navy and Banana Republic.

Local media reports have said Gap plans to open stores in India some time next year, which would make it one of the biggest global brands to launch in the country.

India’s government in the past few years has relaxed restrictions for international retailers to set up shop in the nation as it seeks more foreign investment.

India’s trademark act stipulates that another company cannot sell products with an identical or confusingly similar label.

Jha said the US retailer’s legal suit should ring alarm bells for the government.

“Opening up the market for larger players must not mean that smaller players are shut out,” he said.

- © AFP, 2013

Why a Nike case could make retailers afraid to file trademark suits>
Apple settles $60m Chinese iPad trademark case>

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    Mute Waffler Towers
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    May 26th 2013, 10:41 AM

    To be honest it beats the alternative – having fake brands which really take you out of the film. Nothing worse than a movie character cracking open a can just labelled “beer”

    184
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    Mute cooperguy
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    May 26th 2013, 12:03 PM

    Ya, the movie world is filled with mind reading barmen aswell. I’d love to be able to walk into a bar and order a “Beer” and get what I want every time!

    70
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    Mute Brendan Cunningham
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    May 26th 2013, 3:25 PM

    Go to some restaurants in Italy and that’s what happens. A two page list of wine with two beers at the bottom called small and large.

    20
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    Mute Rob Hunt
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    May 26th 2013, 11:31 AM

    The product placements in Wayne’s World were satirical and totally over the top for the sake of comedy, this example doesn’t really fit in with the rest!

    107
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    Mute Rob Daly
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    May 26th 2013, 11:45 AM

    If this article is giving you a headache, Rob Hunt, you should take two Nuprin.
    Ah, Nuprin. Little. Yellow. Different.

    64
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    Mute Little Jim
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    May 26th 2013, 1:10 PM

    Or you could try JIMPRIN, a generic version that may be even better!
    JIMPRIN! Almost made in Ireland!!

    19
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    Mute SlyLad
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    May 26th 2013, 10:42 AM

    James Bond Skyfall with Heinekin and the Sony laptops.

    74
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    Mute Andrew Telford
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    May 26th 2013, 11:07 AM

    I think the icing on the skyfall sell out cake was…
    M:What was that?
    Moneypenny: Volkswagen beetles I believe ma’m

    I thought for a second she was going to add ‘what I can’t believe is they start from only €16K’

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    Mute Eamonom
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    May 26th 2013, 1:34 PM

    In fairness Bond has a noble heritage of schlepping. In Goldfinger You could have a drinking game out of the amount of times Sean Connery during his golf march wit Aurich Goldfinger says the word Slazenger.

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    Mute Eamonn Sullivan
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    May 26th 2013, 9:13 PM

    I Lol’d at that

    1
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    Mute bacoxy
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    May 26th 2013, 11:51 AM

    I hate product placement just about as much as I love a nice ice filled glass of Bulmers on a sunny day…

    53
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    Mute Liam
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    May 26th 2013, 10:47 AM

    The movie producers and companies are out to make money, yet I think this speaks more to human beings and their desire to want something that they see in a movie, regardless of how useless that thing may be.

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    Mute Carmel Costello
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    May 26th 2013, 12:04 PM

    Have you seen the Product Placement in Fair City :) woaaaaa

    38
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    Mute Lorraine Keane
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    May 26th 2013, 3:00 PM

    Too true they’re shameless!

    8
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    Mute Valerie Dynan
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    May 26th 2013, 11:50 AM

    Some other company were offered the placement in ‘Castaway’, wouldn’t take it because they thought the plane crash would be bad for business.

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    Mute Dave Byrne
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    May 27th 2013, 12:38 AM

    The guy who filmed castaway was a former marine who served his time in Vietnam with the CEO of FEDEX.
    At the time the board did not want the company to go ahead and feature in the movie but the CEO managed to push it through, , From memory it is the only actual airline ever to have a plane crash.

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    Mute OU812
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    May 26th 2013, 11:18 AM

    There’s a fascinating development in product placement. A company called Morris’s have developed technology which allows post production placement.

    Essentially this means that anything which as ever been filmed wether yesterday or 50 years ago, can have products placed in it.

    They have a showreel which includes a Kellogg’s cereal on the breakfast table of a Cosby show episode which predates the product by about five years.

    http://www.mirriad.com/tag/digital-product-placement/

    This means placement can be sold in different territories for different products.

    There was a recent episode of how I met your mother which featured one of the characters carrying a shopping bag. The space on the bag was sold multiple times (down to zip code level) by individual broadcasters & where it wasn’t sold. It was blank with no disruption to the scene.

    26
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    Mute Johnny O Connor
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    May 26th 2013, 11:14 AM

    The Truman show. A very very very large product ad

    20
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    Mute Brian O'Dea
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    May 26th 2013, 10:40 AM

    What a moany article.

    Are you seriously suggesting there should be no name brand products in films? Yeah, that’ll make it more natural.

    There was nothing unnatural about any of these products. Imagine, a named car in a film about… Cars?!

    20
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    Mute Master Mc Man
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    May 26th 2013, 10:48 AM

    Sharon’s stones ” Toothless Grin” in basic instinct

    17
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    Mute Padraig Stapleton
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    May 26th 2013, 10:54 AM

    Remember a blatant one for Nike, in Heath Ledger’s ‘A Knights Tale’. Crap film anyway but that plug was shameless.

    16
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    Mute Andrew Telford
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    May 26th 2013, 11:03 AM

    Nike not capitalizing… While they did only release 1500 (not 1000 fact check anyone?) pairs they also sold them in a bidding process for $3,500-10,000 a piece.

    15
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    Mute Crom Cruach
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    May 26th 2013, 1:18 PM

    That’s a BMW Z8 from The World Is Not Enough pictured, not the Z3 from Goldeneye.

    14
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    Mute Jason Bourne
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    May 26th 2013, 1:12 PM

    I am sick to death of the Apple’s product placement. iphone & MACs everywhere. And if the ‘baddie’ in the tv seriesbor movie takes out his phone, it looks like a blackberry.

    12
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    Mute Waffler Towers
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    May 26th 2013, 11:45 AM

    The most blatant were Cheerios back in the late 70s, the cereal boxes were framed and lit better than the actors

    11
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    Mute Journal Comments
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    May 26th 2013, 12:07 PM

    I’m surprised the movie jack and jill with Adam Sandler was left out of this list…. Worst product placements I’ve ever seen. The ones above aren’t too bad… The whole movie was based on trying to get a Dunkin Donuts commercial made.

    10
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    Mute Ian Murphy
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    May 26th 2013, 12:45 PM

    Because the film was so bad that no one saw it and the placements.

    26
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    Mute Journal Comments
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    May 26th 2013, 1:48 PM

    I’m glad no one has seen it. Horrible money grabbing piece of crap.

    3
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    Mute Aundrea O'Connor
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    May 26th 2013, 1:41 PM

    The picture of Bond was in Azerbaijan in The World is not Enough standing next to the BMW z8 the z3 roadster was in Goldeneye :)

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    Mute Waffler Towers
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    May 26th 2013, 12:57 PM

    Don’t forget Mac & Me, an entire movie made to promote MacDonalds

    8
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    Mute joe o shea
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    May 26th 2013, 10:55 AM

    don’t get this article?? product placement is all the rage these days to even in lot of tv shows as well, and animated programmes like southpark

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    Mute Kevin Hunt
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    May 26th 2013, 11:02 AM

    Mission impossible in Dubai. BMWs new 1 and 3 series and X5 used alot! Also in up in the air, American Airlines an Hilton are heavily used and advertised but I heard this was for the free use of the hotels and planes

    7
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    Mute Sacha Mahady
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    May 26th 2013, 1:17 PM

    Surely men in black for ray ban has to be there.

    5
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    Mute Darragh Feiritear
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    May 26th 2013, 1:57 PM

    The movie Mac & Me should definitely be on that list. It’s an ET rip-off where the alien character spends his time consuming MacDonalds, Skittles and Coca Cola. It even has a 5 minute dance scene in MacDonalds in which Ronald MacDonald joins in on the fun.

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    Mute Mack
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    May 26th 2013, 3:01 PM

    Don’t. Forget the subtle method of thejournal.ie to include newstories which are actually adverts…. how dare they provide a free service and try to recoup costs through advertising … don’t forget talkshows like opera and the late late show. I’m also lead to believe that the rte news is sponsored by the sitting government. :)

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    Mute Thomas McGuire
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    May 26th 2013, 11:36 AM

    They’ve nothing on Microsoft, I mean Hawaii, Five O though.

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    Mute colm connolly
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    May 26th 2013, 11:53 AM

    The Miller truck I bad boy’s 2 was so bad just a long dramatic sweeping camera shot of the Miller truck pass in slow motion

    3
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    Mute Darragh Feiritear
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    May 26th 2013, 2:00 PM

    In the movie Anger Management, a movie set in NYC that was released shortly after 9/11, you can see several ads for U.S army recruitment.

    3
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    Mute Trevor Griffin
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    May 26th 2013, 1:57 PM

    What about Heineken in skyfall?

    2
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    Mute Ian Murphy
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    May 26th 2013, 12:56 PM

    Product Placement has been around for years and always will be.
    Watched ‘In The Heat Of The Night’ last night and Coca Cola featured prominently, didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the film though and the funding helps get the films made.

    Smoking though does bother me, shameless placement in scenes you don’t see anymore, such as people smoking in offices and bars etc and really should be stamped out.

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    Mute Judith Lynch
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    May 26th 2013, 11:23 PM

    It is easy enough to get any product placement for the goodies in white hats…….try getting some for the the guys in the black hats, sadly the baddies are not really what the advertisers seem to want .

    1
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    Mute Dingleberrycity
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    May 28th 2013, 7:35 AM

    Oh dingleberrycity.com would never bother with product placement.

    1
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    Mute Colm McCarthy
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    May 26th 2013, 5:43 PM

    Transformers, General Motors, Xbox, Nokia, EBay, Burger King amongst others, and numerous references to Michael Bays other films….

    1
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    Mute JL Pagano
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    May 26th 2013, 3:25 PM

    Burger King in first Iron Man

    1
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    Mute Aundrea O'Connor
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    May 26th 2013, 1:34 PM

    The BMW z3 wasn’t in Goldeneye, it was in The World is Not Enough :)

    1
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    Mute John O'Mahony
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    May 26th 2013, 12:14 PM

    What about Paddy Whiskey in On TheWaterfront?

    see http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrenko/4408952995/

    1
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