London’s pop-up mall complains to Meraas over use of Boxpark name

The company behind east London pop-up mall Boxpark has written to Dubai's Meraas Holding claiming that its intellectual property rights have been breached.
Lawyers acting for Boxpark Limited, a British company registered at Companies House in 2010, have written to Dubai's Meraas Holding demanding that it stops using the name Boxpark or Box Park for its new outdoor shopping and dining development on Al Wasl Road in Dubai.
Meraas launched its Boxpark shopping mall of 44 shops, cafes and restaurants between Al Safa Park and Emirates Post Office this month.
At the time, the company said that the project was "inspired by functional design and urban renewal projects that combine the finest in modern architecture through the aesthetics of warehouse containers".
It includes retailers such as the retro Italian ice cream store Dri Dri, the children's shoe store Polliwalks and the German fashion brand Rundholz, as well as Nike and Adidas Original.
However, the law firm Bryan Cave wrote to Meraas on February 2 alleging that Meraas has been unfairly using the Boxpark trademark, for which it applied in October 2013, four years after Boxpark Limited registered Boxpark as a trademark and two years after the East London mall started operating.
Boxpark in Shoreditch in East London, a trendy shopping centre made out of discarded shipping containers, claims to be the world's first "pop-up" shopping mall.
This is not the first time that Boxpark Limited has acted to protect intellectual property rights. In 2011, Boxpark wrote a similar letter threatening legal action to the promoters of the Re: Start initiative in Christchurch, New Zealand, which was providing temporary accommodation in 60 shipping containers to retailers affected by that year's earthquake.
Meraas declined to comment.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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