# Rubik Brands 3D Trademark



## Bruce MacKenzie (Oct 11, 2019)

A couple of months ago I was forced to remove my 3x3 cube simulation, The Cube, from the Apple App Store by Rubik Brands who complained that the app violated their Trademark. 

Rubik Brands trademark was overturned in the EU. Rubik Brands asserts a 3D trademark on the arrangement of 27 cubes in a 3x3x3 array. Trademark law is that one can trademark a shape if it is not a functional requirement of the product. An example of this is the old hourglass shape of a Coca Cola bottle. It is distinctive to Coke and is not functionally required. One can sell soda pop in a differently shaped bottle. Therefore, the Coca Cola bottle shape can be trademarked. In the EU case it was ruled that a 3x3x3 array of cubes is functionally required for the puzzle. That shape therefore falls under patent law, not trademark law and Rubik's 3D trademark was disallowed. Rubik is trying to make their trademark do the work of a patent and that's bogus.

I understand that the cube manufacturer The Cubicle filed suit to challenged the trademark in the US a couple of years ago. Has there been a judgement in that case?


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## PetrusQuber (Oct 11, 2019)

I don't know anything about this, but just to say that the cube doesn't have 27 cubes in it you rubix company. About the trademark stuff, that aounds painful. They tried to ban speedcubes once...


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## jo1215 (Oct 11, 2019)

Posted by TheCubicle in September 2018:
Settlement with Rubik's and Moving Forward
As you may have heard, we have been involved in an intellectual property dispute with Rubik's Brand Ltd. over the past year. Due to the pending nature of the dispute and the sensitivity of its issues, we were unable to communicate many details. Despite the hardships associated with these litigations, we are now glad to announce that mutually agreeable settlement terms have been reached, and the parties are optimistic about moving forward amicably. We plan to continue fully operating our business as usual.

Firstly, we would like to extend our warm thanks to the cubing community for its support and understanding this past year. The overwhelming support and expressions of solidarity from the community have definitely helped our team get through this complex and emotionally challenging time. Thank you for always thinking of us.

Additionally, many of you have probably heard of the upcoming Red Bull Rubik's World Championship, the final competition in a string of speedcubing events by Red Bull Mind Gamers. We understand that Red Bull had a rocky start in our community due to circumstances beyond its control. We also understand that Red Bull's events differ from the World Cube Association's (WCA), and that some community members, us included, were at first skeptical of their long-term intentions.

To this, Red Bull has ensured everybody that its goals are to diversify competitive opportunities in speedcubing and attract more attention to our sport -- not to destroy, distract, or replace. As signs of good faith, Red Bull is currently in good communication with the WCA to plan collaborations in the future and chose to rebrand their event to the Red Bull Rubik's Cube World Cup starting 2019 (due to community feedback). Competitors will also have the flexibility of using their own cubes for the upcoming Finals on September 21-22 and the rest of the series moving forward. We see these new developments as a giant step forward for growing our sport and exploring the unique opportunities ahead of us.
Seeing speedcubers succeed in new ways and on new frontiers gives us tremendous happiness, a sense we have shared with the community even before the inception of our company. In this light, Red Bull's aspirations to grow and enliven our sport are exciting and are very much aligned with our own. Because of this and their commitment to cooperating with the WCA, we have decided to collaborate with them to explore new opportunities for fun, engagement, and growth. We hope that speedcubers can give them a chance to demonstrate that they are genuinely interested in contributing to our sport.

Again, thank you, everyone, for your support and care. We are glad to have reached an amicable agreement in what began as a very stressful and confrontational dispute. We look forward to operating according to our principles and bringing you the best of what we can do in innovation, business, and helping the community grow.

Thank you for continuing to Cube With Us.


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## Bruce MacKenzie (Oct 11, 2019)

jo1215 said:


> Posted by TheCubicle in September 2018:
> Settlement with Rubik's and Moving Forward
> As you may have heard, we have been involved in an intellectual property dispute with Rubik's Brand Ltd. over the past year. Due to the pending nature of the dispute and the sensitivity of its issues, we were unable to communicate many details. Despite the hardships associated with these litigations, we are now glad to announce that mutually agreeable settlement terms have been reached, and the parties are optimistic about moving forward amicably. We plan to continue fully operating our business as usual.
> 
> ...


So, I take it the The Cubicle settled and dropped their suit. Thus, there was no legal ruling on the legitimacy of Rubik Brands 3D trademark?


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