Merlin Entertainments General Discussion
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ihavenoknees
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Does anyone know if you can buy these Multi Park Tickets at the park on the day?
see above[/i]
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evil cod
[url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/t ... 910021.ece" target="_blank]http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/t ... 910021.ece[/url]
More news, Merlin are deffinatly interested and on the case
More news, Merlin are deffinatly interested and on the case
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Big Dave
Good for them. Disney and Universal like mentioned before have movies to help bring in extra cash. Merlin have shown that they can be a challenger to them even without this backing. So good for you Merlin! I really hope that this goes through ok and I also hope it strengthens their position has one if not the best Amusement, Theme park and Attraction operator in the world!
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AstroDan
Biggest, but to be the best oh they have a lot of work to do. They have the building blocks, but my how much investment would ne needed.
£12,000,000 really is nothing compared to what they need to invest to make the Merlin parks, such as AT, the best.
£12,000,000 really is nothing compared to what they need to invest to make the Merlin parks, such as AT, the best.
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Skumfidus
Merlin Entertainments have bought Underwater Adventures, in the Mall Of America, Minnesota.
[url=http://www.startribune.com/business/359 ... c:_Yyc:aUU" target="_blank]http://www.startribune.com/business/359 ... c:_Yyc:aUU[/url]
A real gain for Merlin entertainments, they have Lego, Madame Tussauds and now Aquariums in the US, all that's left now is a real theme park!
[url=http://www.startribune.com/business/359 ... c:_Yyc:aUU" target="_blank]http://www.startribune.com/business/359 ... c:_Yyc:aUU[/url]
A real gain for Merlin entertainments, they have Lego, Madame Tussauds and now Aquariums in the US, all that's left now is a real theme park!
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Corkscrewed
Sorry to quote TPI again, but I love Robert Niles' take on this...
[quote=""Theme Park Insider""]Legoland owner buys Mall of America aquarium
from Theme Park Insider
By Robert Niles: Just got the press release:
Merlin Entertainments, the world’s second largest visitor attraction operator, today announced the acquisition of the Underwater Adventures Aquarium in Minnesota, USA, from The Minnesota Aquarium LLC, for an undisclosed sum.
Underwater Adventures is located in the iconic Mall of America in Minnesota and currently welcomes more than 600,000 visitors a year to its impressive displays of living marine creatures.
This acquisition underlines Merlin’s expertise in the operation of marine attractions. The company is already the world’s leading operator of aquaria through its SEA LIFE brand which welcomes over 10 million visitors a year to its 28 sites including its recently opened site at LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, California – the company’s first SEA LIFE location in North America.
Normally, I wouldn't pay much attention to this sort of thing. We don't cover aquariums, and even Mall of America's Nickelodeon Universe theme park isn't big enough to draw much attention on the site.
But, given the current state of the economy, I felt the need to shout: "Hey, look! A theme park company that's BUYING something instead of TRYING TO SELL!"
Yeah, that's all we got now. But, hey, Merlin, there's this other attraction company that does aquariumsthat you might want to take a look at....[/quote]
Brilliantly put!
[quote=""Theme Park Insider""]Legoland owner buys Mall of America aquarium
from Theme Park Insider
By Robert Niles: Just got the press release:
Merlin Entertainments, the world’s second largest visitor attraction operator, today announced the acquisition of the Underwater Adventures Aquarium in Minnesota, USA, from The Minnesota Aquarium LLC, for an undisclosed sum.
Underwater Adventures is located in the iconic Mall of America in Minnesota and currently welcomes more than 600,000 visitors a year to its impressive displays of living marine creatures.
This acquisition underlines Merlin’s expertise in the operation of marine attractions. The company is already the world’s leading operator of aquaria through its SEA LIFE brand which welcomes over 10 million visitors a year to its 28 sites including its recently opened site at LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, California – the company’s first SEA LIFE location in North America.
Normally, I wouldn't pay much attention to this sort of thing. We don't cover aquariums, and even Mall of America's Nickelodeon Universe theme park isn't big enough to draw much attention on the site.
But, given the current state of the economy, I felt the need to shout: "Hey, look! A theme park company that's BUYING something instead of TRYING TO SELL!"
Yeah, that's all we got now. But, hey, Merlin, there's this other attraction company that does aquariumsthat you might want to take a look at....[/quote]
Brilliantly put!
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jonathan leake
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Does this meen it will be turned in to a sealife now then? sorry if this is a dumb question.
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Khanage
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I would imagine they would change the name to Sealife as it would enance their brand and put another one on the american map.
Thanks to Adzy for the sig & av.
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haydn!
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[quote=""Nottingham Evening Post""]NOTTINGHAM'S giant wheel was today renamed after threats of legal action from owners of the London Eye.
The giant attraction will now be known as the Wheel of Nottingham.
Owner James Mellors jnr said they had received letters from London Eye solicitors saying their brand was trademarked.
They were warned if they didn't drop the "eye" part of the name by today, they could be sued.
Mr Mellors said he was disappointed at the enforced action. "They were telling us that it was damaging the business of the London Eye," he said.
"But I think it is a bit too strong. The Nottingham one is only there for a short time. It is smaller than London as well.
"We had wanted to register the name and were told we couldn't do that.
"We had the first letter a couple of weeks ago. We asked if we could at least trade with the name until the end of April but that was turned down.
"We were then told we had to change immediately."
The 60ft attraction opened in Old Market Square last month. It is the second year the wheel has been brought here. It will remain there until April 26.
Mr Mellors added: "We didn't originally call it the Nottingham Eye. That was what people were calling it. There's not much we can do about that.
"This year we named it as that. But now it will be the Wheel of Nottingham. We have had similar things happening when we have taken it to places like Cardiff.
"It has added more work as well as we are having to change the branding on the front and the commentary inside the rides."
A spokeswoman for the London Eye said the "Eye" part of its name was trademarked and that it was recognised across the world.
She added: "Merlin Entertainments [the owning company] has invested heavily in establishing the London Eye brand globally and as such will take all necessary steps to protect it from unauthorised use by any other company seeking to gain commercial benefit or imply any link with our brand.
"The operators of the Nottingham wheel now understand this view and have agreed to rebrand accordingly with immediate effect."
Mr Mellors added that in spite of the financial downturn, sales figures for the wheel were still good.
"It is not as good as last year but we are still pleased," he said.
"We don't have as many people walking up with shopping bags as we did last time.
"But people are coming back and I'm sure some tourists are coming to have a go for the first time."[/quote]
Source: Nottingham Evening Post
Official Site
The giant attraction will now be known as the Wheel of Nottingham.
Owner James Mellors jnr said they had received letters from London Eye solicitors saying their brand was trademarked.
They were warned if they didn't drop the "eye" part of the name by today, they could be sued.
Mr Mellors said he was disappointed at the enforced action. "They were telling us that it was damaging the business of the London Eye," he said.
"But I think it is a bit too strong. The Nottingham one is only there for a short time. It is smaller than London as well.
"We had wanted to register the name and were told we couldn't do that.
"We had the first letter a couple of weeks ago. We asked if we could at least trade with the name until the end of April but that was turned down.
"We were then told we had to change immediately."
The 60ft attraction opened in Old Market Square last month. It is the second year the wheel has been brought here. It will remain there until April 26.
Mr Mellors added: "We didn't originally call it the Nottingham Eye. That was what people were calling it. There's not much we can do about that.
"This year we named it as that. But now it will be the Wheel of Nottingham. We have had similar things happening when we have taken it to places like Cardiff.
"It has added more work as well as we are having to change the branding on the front and the commentary inside the rides."
A spokeswoman for the London Eye said the "Eye" part of its name was trademarked and that it was recognised across the world.
She added: "Merlin Entertainments [the owning company] has invested heavily in establishing the London Eye brand globally and as such will take all necessary steps to protect it from unauthorised use by any other company seeking to gain commercial benefit or imply any link with our brand.
"The operators of the Nottingham wheel now understand this view and have agreed to rebrand accordingly with immediate effect."
Mr Mellors added that in spite of the financial downturn, sales figures for the wheel were still good.
"It is not as good as last year but we are still pleased," he said.
"We don't have as many people walking up with shopping bags as we did last time.
"But people are coming back and I'm sure some tourists are coming to have a go for the first time."[/quote]
Source: Nottingham Evening Post
Official Site
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Ollie
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I agree with the enforcement of the the London Eye's trademark name. Being such a famous icon within Britain, it would be better if it were not affiliated with such an over-priced, temporary, grubby and disappointing attraction. I went on the Nottingham Wheel during the half-term period and wasn't impressed tbh.
:shrug:
:shrug:
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Joe Koopa
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If it's tradmarked, which with any doubt it will be, then they have a right to ask them to change it's name. However, if it's not then as tacky as it is, they will have to share names. 
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Ollie
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[quote=""Koopa-Troopa""]However, if it's not then as tacky as it is, they will have to share names. [/quote]
#-o
But it is obviously trademarked if they have asked the temporary attraction to discontinue the 'Nottingham Eye' name.
[/quote]#-o
But it is obviously trademarked if they have asked the temporary attraction to discontinue the 'Nottingham Eye' name.
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Anonymous
Woooooaaa! Hold on a minute.
The word "eye" in "London Eye" is copyrighted. What a load of bollocks...
I think they will find the name "London Eye" is a trademark and thats it.
You cant copyright a commonly used word to start with things like "Orange" are trademarks as they are shown in a certain way ie. Logo, colour etc.
In my opinion James should have left it as the Nottingham eye, I would love to see that stand up in court.
Oh No! I was thinking of calling the local council now just incase Merlin sue them for calling our local park "Allesley Park" just a precaution as the word "Park" is copyrighted in "THORPE PARK"
Never heard so much crap in all my life. [-X
The word "eye" in "London Eye" is copyrighted. What a load of bollocks...
I think they will find the name "London Eye" is a trademark and thats it.
You cant copyright a commonly used word to start with things like "Orange" are trademarks as they are shown in a certain way ie. Logo, colour etc.
In my opinion James should have left it as the Nottingham eye, I would love to see that stand up in court.
Oh No! I was thinking of calling the local council now just incase Merlin sue them for calling our local park "Allesley Park" just a precaution as the word "Park" is copyrighted in "THORPE PARK"
Never heard so much crap in all my life. [-X
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Vik
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Exactly what I was thinking. :P .Woooooaaa! Hold on a minute.
The word "eye" in "London Eye" is copyrighted. What a load of bollocks...
Sent from my ZX81 via Time Travel
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haydn!
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Yeah, exactly my view. Though I do understand some of the reasoning behind it as the name could lend itself to some association with the London Eye. But I fail to see how Merlin could copyright just part of the name, especially the word EYE.
It would be like Manchester United copyrighting the term 'Football Club' and the stopping all other clubs from using the term in their names.
My guess here is Merlin only got away with their threat because the attraction is just temporary and the cost of any potential legal battle may outweigh the benefits of hosting the attraction to Mellors and Nottingham.
It would be like Manchester United copyrighting the term 'Football Club' and the stopping all other clubs from using the term in their names.
My guess here is Merlin only got away with their threat because the attraction is just temporary and the cost of any potential legal battle may outweigh the benefits of hosting the attraction to Mellors and Nottingham.
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AdamJ
What a load of bollocks! *mind my french*
Merlin suck, FACT! I mean, come on! It's a wheel, big bloody deal!
EDIT: I can't spell
thanks Kryn for correcting me via msn
Merlin suck, FACT! I mean, come on! It's a wheel, big bloody deal!
EDIT: I can't spell
thanks Kryn for correcting me via msn -
Skumfidus
Surely nothing has been said regarding actual Trademarks? This is merely an argument of Brand Identity within basic Trademark law
They aren't saying you can't use 'Eye' because it's in our name, they're saying that calling a city centre observation wheel by the name 'Eye' (especially seeing as the word isn't directly connected with attractions of this type pre-London Eye) is against the basic principles of Trademark law; "To prevent the possibility of confusion"
In the eyes of the public, the Nottingham Eye and the London Eye may seem connected, in the same way as perhaps the York Dungeons and the London Dungeons are. This means that the Nottingham Eye is attributed to the same company as the London Eye in the eyes of the public. Nottingham wheel sets on fire, London Eye suffers, London Eye goes on a national marketing bonanza, Nottingham Eye gains. Basic Business.
As quoted in the article "take all necessary steps to protect it from unauthorised use by any other company seeking to gain commercial benefit or imply any link with our brand.. If the London Eye was called the London Wheel, and Nottingham decided to call theirs the Nottingham Wheel, there wouldn't be a problem, as wheel is a word that the GP would connect with a giant observation wheel, but 'eye' certainly isn't....and therin lies the issue.
I could open up a knitting supplies shop tomorrow called McDonalds and the fast food chain wouldn't bat an eyelid, but start selling burgers, that's where the whole purpose of Trademark comes into it.
They aren't saying you can't use 'Eye' because it's in our name, they're saying that calling a city centre observation wheel by the name 'Eye' (especially seeing as the word isn't directly connected with attractions of this type pre-London Eye) is against the basic principles of Trademark law; "To prevent the possibility of confusion"
In the eyes of the public, the Nottingham Eye and the London Eye may seem connected, in the same way as perhaps the York Dungeons and the London Dungeons are. This means that the Nottingham Eye is attributed to the same company as the London Eye in the eyes of the public. Nottingham wheel sets on fire, London Eye suffers, London Eye goes on a national marketing bonanza, Nottingham Eye gains. Basic Business.
As quoted in the article "take all necessary steps to protect it from unauthorised use by any other company seeking to gain commercial benefit or imply any link with our brand.. If the London Eye was called the London Wheel, and Nottingham decided to call theirs the Nottingham Wheel, there wouldn't be a problem, as wheel is a word that the GP would connect with a giant observation wheel, but 'eye' certainly isn't....and therin lies the issue.
I could open up a knitting supplies shop tomorrow called McDonalds and the fast food chain wouldn't bat an eyelid, but start selling burgers, that's where the whole purpose of Trademark comes into it.
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CoasterCrazyChris
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A load of crap if you ask me. They should be able to call it "eye" whatever if they like.
Reinforces the truth of how Merlin is just like Tussauds under a new name.
Reinforces the truth of how Merlin is just like Tussauds under a new name.