The Notebook Company, a notebook and accessories retailer in South Africa, said that it has removed the Dell logos from all its online and offline advertising at the behest of Dell.
According to the retailer they have replaced all Dell’s logos on their websites with “Dell PartnerDirect Registered” images as per Dell’s requests.
Dell’s lawyers, Adams & Adams, informed The Notebook Company earlier this year (June 2011) that all Dell logos must be removed from any signage, websites or other material displayed by The Notebook Company.
“I am still of the belief that you will not find this kind of pettiness from other brands that have used the channel for a long time,” The Notebook Company CEO Christopher Riley said in a press statement.
Dell Partner Direct Registered
“Technically, each time you see an advert using logos of products such as HP, Lenovo, Sony, Toshiba, Acer from a retailer they should have received permission from the trademark holder to display the logo. We all know this does not happen. But there seems to be an unspoken agreement that if you stay under the radar and none of the other retailers complain you are fine, and no one will point out the technicalities of the law to you.”
Riley went on to say that they even have difficulty promoting Dell through Google as the word “Dell” is not allowed in the advert text.
“It still concerns me that Dell makes it quite difficult for prospective customers to find retailers of its products,” Riley said.
Dell was contacted to tell their side of the story and provided the following statement: “The terms of the settlement agreed between The Notebook Company and Dell in favour of Dell is confidential, therefore, Dell is unable to comment.”
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