The exception Virgin

Brand overextension, also known as “brand overextension,” occurs when a brand enters too many different product categories. This leads to a reduction in the uniqueness of the brand, which stops being associated with specific products or services.

In addition, if the new products or services are not of sufficient quality and differ from the standard and well-known products/services offered by the company, this may damage its reputation.

Many of the most successful brands are of products or services in a clearly defined sector. Coca Cola produces soft drinks, Apple consumer electronics, Adidas sportswear.

The exception /at least of the popular brands/ is Richard Branson’s Virgin brand, which is associated with many successful business ventures.

Richard Branson is an entrepreneur with an extremely unconventional and even adventurous approach to business.

In 1972 he founded the music company Virgin Records, which became very successful.

Over the years Virgin has expanded into multiple areas including airlines, rail and even space tourism.

Virgin is one of the world’s most famous brands. The brand is associated with innovation and adventurous spirit. The word Virgin means “virgin” or “unspoiled”, which symbolizes the beginning of any new business venture.

It’s no surprise that Virgin is a registered trademark in multiple countries around the world.

Curiously, the name Virgin is used in various trademarks, such as Virgin Atlantic (airline), Virgin Mobile (mobile services), Virgin Galactic (space tourism), etc.

The Virgin logo consists of the Virgin word name in a distinctive font and different colours and words depending on the specific business. For example, Virgin Atlantic uses the word Virgin in its distinctive font, followed by Atlantic in a more traditional font, along with other visual elements.

It is accepted that the use of the mark in a different form in terms of elements that do not change the distinctive character of the mark compared to the form in which it is registered constitutes a genuine use of the mark and therefore the company does not need to register other trademarks if, for example, it decides to add colours or qualifying words (e.g. company name, wine variety, industry, etc.). Companies can register a trademark for multiple classes of goods and services and can apply variations of the mark in their commercial activities which allow the mark to be adapted to the requirements of the market or the nature of the business venture. However, it is important to maintain the distinctive character of the mark.

Where several signs are used together (e.g. Virgin Atlantic) but remain independent of each other, the distinctive character of the mark is presumed not to have been altered. The signs are most often perceived independently when one of the signs has a dominant role (Virgin) and the other signs have a complementary role (Atlantic).

In this hypothesis, the company does not need to register multiple trademarks. It is sufficient to register one trademark with a distinctive and memorable word name