Burberry and Barbie-maker Mattel appear to have settled a headline-making trademark clash that pitted them against each other over the BRBY word mark early this summer.
On the heels of Mattel initiating an opposition with the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in June, in which it sought to block Burberry’s application for registration for “BRBY” for use on apparel and leather goods, the El Segundo, California-based toy giant has withdrawn its opposition against the British fashion brand and requested that the matter be dismissed – albeit without prejudice. The apparent impetus behind Mattel’s decision to drop its opposition: Burberry has moved to expressly abandon the trademark application at issue, suggesting that the parties have reached an agreement following a stay of the opposition this summer for settlement negotiations.
While the dust has settled on both the Barbie movie, which generated more than $1 billion in ticket sales this summer, and the Barbie v. BRBY trademark fight, Burberry has not been left entirely empty handed. The British company – which trades on the London Stock Exchange under the “BRBY” ticker – boasts at least a couple of non-U.S. registrations for the BRBY trademark that appear to still be in force. For instance, Burberry nabbed a registration from the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office for BRBY for use on leather goods, and apparel and footwear back in April 2022. And in December 2022, the European Union Intellectual Property Office issued Burberry a registration for the BRBY mark for use on the same types of goods. Still yet, it appears to have lodged an application for the BRBY mark with the Intellectual Property Office in Korea, as well.