How long have you been with the company?
I have to admit that this is the second phase of my professional career. In the first 15 years I worked for several saving banks in Germany. I joined Zwilling 17 years ago in 1991. When I started my work in the legal department I had no idea what someone who deals with trademarks has to do. But since my predecessor was someone who had vigorously defended our trademarks I learnt a lot from him. I was impressed by his commitment to our trademarks and I think I have become as crazy as he was (maybe more polite) in defending our marks.
In 1991 I wanted a change in my business life and since I was born in Solingen, a city known for its cutlery, the job as the defender of the famous TWIN device seemed appealing to me. So I applied for the job. This job is the best thing that I have experienced so far. Zwilling is a relatively small company with 2,500 people working for it worldwide. In 1997 I took over as the head of the legal department, which now consists of four of us. We have always focused most of our time on IP matters, but in the last five years we have been doing more contractual work for the company.
Over the last few years Zwilling has made quite a few purchases. For example recently we bought Demeyere, a Belgian cookery manufacturer and Tondeo, which is a very high-end hair scissors manufacturer. With these acquisitions we completed our product lines for cutlery, kitchen and beauty. The integration of new companies into our central IPR management has been very different for each company. Some prefer to do their own job whereas others are happy that we help them with their IPR.
What are the main brands you have?
The main brands that we have are the TWIN symbol and the word mark ZWILLING which stand for high-end products and outstanding quality. Furthermore, there is the Halberd Man device under the word mark HENCKELS INTERNATIONAL, which consists of a man holding the halberd tool. Products under this brand are less expensive and, therefore, optimal for younger people to get to know the world of Zwilling products at a lower price.
We have other brands also for different product lines and of course the trademarks of our new purchases and subsidiaries like Jaguar, Tondeo and Tweezerman.
Tell me a little about the history of the brand.
The history of the TWIN device started in 1731 when Johann Peter Henckels filed the first registration for this mark with the Solingen Cutlers’ Guild. Also the history of the Halberd Man device dates back to those times.
During the first 100 years of Zwilling’s history the business remained very small, something like a one-man two-man business. Then in the early 19th century under Johann Abraham Henckels senior and later under his sons Johann Gottfried and Johann Abraham the business became more professional and international. A first branch was opened in Berlin in 1818 followed by others in the years to come. Products of Zwilling became known for their high quality and as a consequence won first prizes at world exhibitions in London, Chicago, Paris, St. Louis and San Francisco between the mid-19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. This was the time when the value of the trademark increased considerably.
1938 was a year of breakthrough in innovation for us. Zwilling invented the first multi-purpose scissors (Küchenhilfe), which is still in our current program. A year later we even invented and made our own special steel through an ice-hardening process which was patented and which is still used today for most of our cutlery. In 1953 Zwilling became a joint stock company. In 1976 Zwilling launched the FOUR STAR knife series, which became the biggest-selling high-end cooking knife series ever. In 1983 the famous TWIN multi-purpose kitchen shears were launched, which over the years became the focus of more than 800 infringers worldwide. Since 2002 Zwilling produces its own cookware under the TWIN device and within a short period of time became the market leader in China for high-quality cookware.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the brand?
I think our strengths are that we have a very long tradition for high quality but also for strict IPR protection. My biggest aim is the worldwide recognition of our trademark as a well-known trademark. In that sense, we are always on the borderline of this, as we are not a very big company, so we have to fight hard to get it. The US and Canada are very important markets for Zwilling and there we are known as J.A. HENCKELS. In Asia our trademarks are so wonderfully well known that our trademark TWIN device was granted the special protection as a well-known trademark in China, Thailand, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
We maintain subsidiaries worldwide including in the US, Canada, Taiwan, China, Japan and many European countries. In the EU, however, our business is still not at the same level as elsewhere. But I am happy that in spite of being a relatively small company we are rather well known throughout the world.
How do you maintain control of the brands?
We have a strict IPR policy, which is part of most of our contracts with distributors, suppliers and other business partners. We also have a special regulation for our corporate identity where we state exactly how our trademarks can be used. On the Internet we offer a media database restricted for our business partners that provides samples for advertising and the like.
We protect our trademarks in many countries, widely using the international systems such as the Madrid Agreement or the Community trade mark or a combination of both. We use trademark watching services to inform us about infringing new trademark applications world-wide. We also sometimes receive information from our lawyers, distributors and other business partners concerning infringements of our trademarks.
Do you protect any look-and-feel aspects of the brand?
No. We tried at the beginning of the new trademark forms to file three-dimensional trademarks which were not a big success.
How many countries do you protect the trademarks in and how many trademark registrations do you have?
The TWIN device is protected in over 100 countries and including all our subsidiaries we have over 200 different trademarks to protect.
Do you use design rights to protect brands, packaging etc?
Yes, we use design rights widely, however not to protect the brand but to protect our designs. We don’t have many patents so we have to use design rights instead to protect our products. At times this can be terribly difficult and frustrating. When designs are copied they are usually not copied one to one. The copies are always a bit different from the original so the outcome of the proceedings is more insecure than with trademarks. About 90% of the design infringements come from China, especially from the city of Yangjiang in the south of the country where most of the Chinese cutlery companies have their place of business and their factories. But the IP Office in Yangjiang is very helpful.
Another pitfall with design protection in China is that you are often confronted with cancellation actions (mostly unfounded) against your own rights when you try to enforce your design rights. Since in China the maximum protection period for design rights is only 10 years and because some courts and some IP offices suspend infringement proceedings while cancellation actions are pending, you sometimes have to accept that your own right has lapsed when you are through with the cancellation action. In most other countries the protection period for design rights is up to 25 years and this makes enforcement against infringements worthwhile. In China you have to think twice before starting any design infringement proceedings.
What has been the most challenging aspect in maintaining your brand in today’s global environment?
Probably, trademark infringement for dissimilar goods is a big challenge. Infringements of our TWIN device are used and applied for various kinds of goods like bags, electrical appliances and even for car parts. This sort of infringement on dissimilar goods is a speciality in China and you can defend your trademarks against dissimilar goods only when your mark is recognized as being well known. Only last month ZWILLING has been recognized by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) on its website as a well-known trademark in China. This was something to celebrate, and we opened a bottle of Champagne in the legal department. I was really the happiest woman in the world after waiting for this moment for nearly five years. I think it is a big achievement for a relative small company like Zwilling. We wish to thank Linda Chang and her team at Rouse & Co. International for their great support in this matter: without this it would not have been possible.
Are you entering any new markets?
Yes, we have just established a new distribution subsidiary in Brazil through which we hope to strengthen our position in South America and through our new acquisitions we are getting new product lines into the Zwilling Group.
What measures do you take to police your brands?
We police our brands through intensive market observance as described and we take IPR protection very seriously. We are involved in some vigorous fights especially when it comes to the protection of our TWIN device trademark.
What are the biggest challenges facing brand owners in Germany, the EU and globally?
The economic situation I think is a big challenge and it is becoming more serious. In the EU and the US people are becoming more reluctant to spend on high-end consumer goods. If the family budget is tight they think that cheap products will also do. Many consumers think that buying cheap constitutes a smart buy. However, I think that this is too short-sighted. Buying cheap in the end will be more expensive because most cheap goods lack quality and, therefore, durability.
IPR infringement from China is a global problem no doubt but if the West is going to buy those infringements then of course Chinese companies will produce them. Where there is a demand there is an offer. I think both have a part in that: the Chinese manufacturers as well as the consumers in the West. The consumers in the West want to buy products that look high-end but are cheap. I think it is unfair to put the whole blame only on China. We are lucky, however, because we have made a lot of progress in defending our IPR in China successfully and I have enjoyed my experience in dealing with the country and its people.
What do you like the most about working in trademarks?
It is an absolutely exciting job, very interesting and international. You also meet lots of people with the same mind. Trademark practitioners are as crazy as I am in defending their IPR. They are very personally involved with their trademarks and will do anything to protect them and they protect them like their own babies. It is really worthwhile and enjoyable.
