American Express has given up its bid to wrest total control of the “Black Card” brand name from Netherland’s registered Israel-based coffee producer, which owns the Black Card coffee trademark. A court dismissed the case after AmEx withdrew its action.
Israel’s Strauss Group, Strauss Coffee B.V, will own the brand name until 2022. AmEx subsidiary American Express Marketing and Development Corp. has requested that the court limit Strauss Coffee’s trademark rights. Specifically, AmEx sought to limit Strauss’s trademark protections in the categories of financial activity, monetary-crediting operations, goods and services of research equipment, digital data carriers, and telecommunications because the coffee produce does not use the trademark for these purposes. .
The “Black Card,” is a popular colloquialism for the American Express Centurion Card—a limited access, high-annual-fee card for AmEx members who spend a very large amount with AmEx every year.
A minor set-back for the global credit brand, which saw big profits during Q2 2014, is that AmEx net revenue for the second quarter was$8.66 billion, up 5 percent from $8.25 billion during the same period a year earlier. Q2 also saw Amex U.S. Card Services up 6 percent with earnings of $4.5 billion, up from $4.2 billion a year ago. Net income also saw an increase, up 4 percent to $770 million.
The company saw even bigger growth on the world stage. International Card Services brought in $1.4 billion in net revenues, an increase of 7 percent from $1.3 billion during Q2 2013. The results reflect higher member spending.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More