What do you call a granny smith apple, except a Granny Smith?!

Working at the Clan, like any other company has its share of ups and downs.
While I enjoy my job most of the time, sometimes, I get so irked that I really cannot tahan.

I was tasked to do something yesterday. I wasn't able to deliver because we simply didn't have the stuff that they wanted. For our product, the people up there wanted to know the trademarked name.

Now considering that our product managers have changed several times over the years since the product was launched, some details would definitely go missing because they are either deemed as irrelevant or not important enough to be handed over etc. I mean, duhz, some of the products have been in the market way before even the product managers came into the Clan!

Now, seriously.. If I held up a green apple in front of you that is immediately recognisable as a Granny Smith, would you call it, say, a Washingtion Red for example? Of course not! You'd probably at the very least say, "Green Apple", which is of course not wrong, right? And if all your advertisements, application forms, website etc etc all call it the Granny Smith Apple, would you call it otherwise?

No lah! Logic mah!

let's now look at the legal aspect...

There are two types of Trade Marks:
1. Common law Trade Mark (commonly designated by ™) occurs where the trade mark has been used either as a brand name or in advertising in relation to certain goods and/or services to such an extent that it has developed a reputation such that any unauthorised use by another trader would amount to a misrepresentation or be misleading or deceptive
2. Registered Trade Mark (commonly designated by ®) is a trade mark registered under the Trade Marks Act.

So, from the above, we know that a common law trademark occurs when the product has developed a certain reputation such that copying it in anyway would be misleading. So, same thing lah right? Our products are so identifiable in the market and our partnerships so strong, that any attempt to copy would be wrong and unlawful. So logically speaking, if you are requested to give the trademark name of a product, wouldn't it be the one which you know it is called by, e.g. Granny Smith apple?

Kenasai.. those people up there called my big boss to ask why I put the trademark name as Granny Smith Apple... they said, "yea.. the apple is known as Granny Smith, but its not registered.. so cannot put".

I mean again, duhz. If they knew that it shouldn't be there, then why did they even leave me the blank to fill and made it a compulsory field? Life would be so much easier if they just simply made just 1 call to confirm the actual trademarked name of our products, instead of sending it to us lock, stock and barrel and then sending it back and forth to say that its wrong..

Obviously these people don't do problem solving... One thing I leant at the Clan is how to solve problems correctly. What do I mean? Well, when problems come in via the online channel, I was taught the 1st thing to do is to check the background and make sure that the phone officers have done their homework properly before logging in the problem. Many times I have found that the answer was right under their noses, but that they were too lazy to even read. Countless of times, I have sent back the cases to the officers by pointing them in the right direction. Then they go, "oh yeah"...

These people up there.. sigh... if they had done their homework through just 1 phonecall, numerous people need not be involved or cc-ed or whatever... and many many more manhours could be saved by...