Having evaluated the trademarks registered in Latvia and the European Union in the second quarter this year, the expert commission of the Latvian Patent Office (LPO) has selected the next eight candidates for the main award of the Trademark of the Year 2024 competition. Until the beginning of the next year, in a series of quarterly publications, we will continue to introduce the enterprises - owners of creative, expressive and witty trademarks – that qualify for the competition's main award in various nominations.
Nomination: Trademark for the Year – for Latvia
The challenge of sporty homeboys
The basketball club “Rīgas Zeļļi” was founded in 2023, but already in the first season, Zeļļi gained a lot of attention from the sports community both with its masterful performance on the court and sports promoting activities, playing home matches in various Latvian cities, and with the bold and sometimes even provocative process of the creation of the club's identity.
In the debut season, “Rīgas Zeļļi” won silver medals in the Latvian Basketball League, reached the Latvian Cup final and entered the playoffs of the Latvian-Estonian League. The performance of the team’s management in creating the team’s identity is also noticeable.
Edgars Buļs, the president of the basketball club, speaks about the creation of the trademark “Rīgas Zeļļi“:
In the beginning, there was the program “Ūdenszeļļi” (Waterboys), in which we analysed the developments in basketball. The name and also the logo of the program had a touch of self-irony. When we turned from talking (in the program) to doing (creating a men's basketball team), I approached Kārlis Krieķis, who is an excellent designer. There was an idea to keep the ironic note for the trademark as well, but Kārlis was not in the mood for joking and got to work with a serious trademark performance in mind.
Admittedly, it took us a few days to get used to and accept the artist's creation, but now we are inseparable with this trademark. It has an expressive combination of the team's colours, pink and purple, trendy long vertical letters used in European sports logos, especially by football clubs. The sign is also associated with Riga and its homeboys' challenging approach to life and sports. It fits the spirit of our club!”
Nomination: Trademark of the Year - for the European Union
Autonomous movement in dangerous environments
The core of the MILDA Technologies team consists of the three associates with experience in industrial design, electronics, and business. They are united by the idea of technical solutions that facilitate human work or completely replace it in dangerous environments, as well as by the ability to help companies automate processes related to cargo transportation.
In 2023, the MILDA Technologies team created a prototype of a racing electric scooter. The acquired experience and knowledge encouraged them to focus on the development of electric drives of wider application.
As a solution to the global labour shortage, the idea of an electric autonomous unmanned ground vehicle that can replace humans in high-risk environments, as well as assist people in industries such as agriculture, logistics, and others, was born. MILDA Technologies' solutions have the potential for dual application in the defence sector as well.
“When thinking about the trademark, it was important for us that the name sounded good and reflected our values,” explain the company's representatives. “In Latvian, the word "Milda" is symbolically charged and powerful, in English and other languages, it is quite uncharacteristic of the industry we represent, therefore intriguing and memorable. In addition, it does not limit us, because it is open and does not relate to a certain line of activity.”
The graphic symbol of the company's trademark is borrowed from the components of the first prototype, representing at the same time sustainability and movement in the form of a stylized wheel.