Wolf Jumps Shark: Amazing but True Story
Submitted by advisor on Sun, 12/20/2009 - 2:47am.
Wolf Range is in a snit over Viking's use of Red knobs, and has filed a trademark infringement suit in federal court on November 16. Evidently Red knobs are proprietary to the cooking overlords in Madison and are the foundation of all of Wolf's success and its sole point of differentiation.
That makes us sad.
Here are the Wolf knobs.
We can't find an image of the offending Viking knob.......but we assume they are Red, and not Blue or Argyle.
Who might be next, as Wolf marches across our industry, kicking butt and taking names, and reclaiming their rightful place in the panthion of appliance innovators?
Could it be Capital Cooking?
Or a bunch of dead engineers responsible for this O'Keefe and Merritt range?
Or this Wedgewood
Or this even older use of red knobs on a steam engine?
Or this dead comedian who for decades performed under Wolf's trademark?
Wolf's choice of Red for its knobs was a true breakthrough; a breathtaking creative spark. We at ApplianceAdvisor.com believe they should be awarded every penny that they deserve.
More on Wolf's Red Knobs
While deleting a Spam entry on this item this morning, and finding that some of the image links above were broken and needing mending, we bumped into this February 2010, legal interpretation of the Case of the Red Knobs. ApplianceAdvisor.com, shockingly, received mention.
Duets Blog
It is evident ...
... that the author of that missive did not understand "pithy" comments !!!
The best part is the link provided further comments from all of us here ... talk about someone with "apron strings" !!!
Rock On, Mate !!!
What a Joke
Viking should countersue in Mississippi. That is one of the dumbest decisions I have ever seen. Color trademark ? My God what is next ? GE should be able to corner the white color.How about DCS with stainless ? How about Dacor blue. No wonder we have so many attorneys.
Oh no, Please ...
... then Mississippi would find in favour of Viking ... then Eric Holder and his many marauders from the Justice Department might get involved ...
From the looks of what he and his have already done (GitMo & Arizona) you might not end up with knobs at all !!!
Question
If Wolf is "The Big Bad Wolf" Will they eat "Little Red Riding Hood "or whoever uses the Red Knob ?
Thanks for the interesting
Thanks for the interesting review, I never really given much thought about the color of the knobs but I see your point and I agree. I find it hard to believe though that the knobs were the sole differentiation for Wolf. Seeing things from this perspective it makes you wonder what makes Frigidaire parts different from Kenmore parts or Sears parts. It would be interesting to know the uniqueness of every brand product.
Trademark Look
Maybe Viking should counter sue Wolf for using Stainless Steel or high output top burners on their products since they were signature features on the original Viking Ranges.
Glad to see ...
Good to see these guys have the balls to protect their little red knobs. Othewise, consumers will be really, really confused.
PARANOIA
Unbelievable how paranoid a company can be.
One must admit that SZ/W does build a good product with excellent branding. Why behave this way? They have something to hide or be ashamed of
Over priced? Over serviced? Cannot compete or does not want to compete. Amazing how other "pro" brands just keep chugging along without comign up with silly complaints about others who essentially "own" the market.
Bizarre
Viking Trademark
Maybe Viking can claim a trademark infringement on Wolf for starting their brand name with a W (comes right after V and is actually two V's put together). Or maybe they could sue because Wolf uses a round, pro style handle. Merry Christmas to all!
good aspirations
Viking is going in the right direction trying to be more like Wolf but it will take more than red knobs to measure up. Sub Zero Wolf is the best company out there for service support, service payment, customer support, service communication yearly pay raises for contractors etc... I cannot say the same for viking which has not stepped up in most of these areas. Just a servicers perspective. Bob Ebert30 years of service
you left out...
The entire commercial segment of the industry...see the Vulcan range below. I have always been a fan of Wolf and Sub-Zero. This puzzles me a bit...
or maybe
DCS. anyone ever heard of these guys?
knobheads
My memory is a little fuzzy going back 20 years....but didn't Viking offer some of their earliest models with red knobs, before the Wolf Residential line existed, and long before Sub-Zero bought it?
Little Red Knobs
My information is that Viking did indeed launch a product with Red knobs in the beginning of the 90's. How does trademark law work such that Wolf is able to claim damages on a use of color that Wolf did not invent. Perhaps Wolf sought trademark protection for the invention after Viking had stopped production, when no other manufacturer was using Red knobs in the residential market. Sounds plausible.
Hey, we're just thinking out loud. Perhaps that is the basis for the case, but no matter, the case is petty, and the trademark lame.
My 2 cents on Red Knobs
I would think that such a case would hinge on consumer recognition of what Red Knobs mean relative to a specific product ... and to that end, I can't see anyone prevailing ... the public is just not that savvy - nor interested !!!
Think of it ... if you can find someone who understands Induction, ask them to tell you quickly what buying an Induction means and I guarantee you they will say that it mean they have to buy new pots and pans ... not the safety, the energy savings, all the superior aspects ...
The suit is a salvo which will be withdrawn after a pound of flesh or so is expended !!!
5th P of Marketing
Everyone has heard of the classical 4 P's of Marketing (Product, Price, Place and Promotion). Marketers also talk of the lesser known 5th P (Prosecution). It seems like the folks in Madison have zeroed in on that approach. Too bad !
Are you kidding me
Well I guess that in this time of financial restraint, there are limited resources for the development of new products. Viking has introduced a lot of new products late last year and this year. I guess all of the R & D money in Madison has been reallocated to their legal department.
This will encourage others to follow suit, such as Whirlpool (amana) suing all other bottom mount manufacturers or Miele suing Kitchen Aid over the use of a cutlery tray.
I hope they are not using the same law firm as Whirlpool did versus LG. That worked out well for Whirlpool..................
Are the prevailing winds blowing into Madison from the Wisconsin farmland or is this just a big load of crap.
Seems Like If You Can't ...
... win the competition by a comparison of your product versus theirs, or convince people of your entitlement to that cooking sector, you need to change the topic to focus on the ridiculous !!!
Next thing you know they'll be bitchin' about the "hue" of red ... is a "flame red" or maybe "scarlet", or "crimson", or "fire engine red" ...
I know, how about changing all their knobs to "Sky Blue Pink" ?!?!?