Wondertree

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wondertree

The wonder tree is a disposable fragrance diffuser in the shape of the silhouette of an abstract conifer for use in motor vehicles. Basically, the so-called air fresheners aim to increase well-being by releasing fragrances. They are available in different fragrances ; the most popular are the scents vanilla aroma , sport freshness, new car and green apple .

They can have a different name depending on the country, for example Wunderbaum (in Germany , Sweden , the Netherlands , Norway , Finland , Denmark and Poland ), Little Trees (in the USA and Canada ), Magic Tree (in Great Britain and Ireland ) or Arbre Magique (in France , Italy , Spain and Portugal ).

History

Little Tree , US original version of the miracle tree

The inventor of the Little Trees was Julius Sämann , a Canadian biochemist and businessman of German- Jewish descent who had to flee from the National Socialists . He was born in Uffenheim , the father and his ancestors come from Ermetzhofen .

Sower spent several years in Canada, where he researched the extraction of pine needle oil (Oleum pini silvestris) . After a milk driver complained to him in 1951 about the bad smell of spilled milk, he invented a way to combine the pine needle oil with a porous cardboard box in order to bind the intense pine scent for a longer period of time. A year later he founded in Watertown in US -Bundesstaat New York , the company Car-Freshner Corporation for the commercial production of Little Trees air freshener called.

In the early years, the Little Trees were popularized by taxis , where they served both to refresh the indoor air and often as decoration. It was understood as an extra service to provide the passengers with a fragrant vehicle. There were other air fresheners available back then, but these were of a liquid nature, which made them unsuitable for use in cars due to the lack of functional containers at the time.

The trees are now available in over sixty different scents. Scented bottles were introduced in 2012 and clips bearing the well-known fir logo were introduced in 2013. In 2014 Invisi followed with the self-developed StediScent technology , which can be attached to the ventilation slots of the car and is practically invisible. In the USA and Canada there are other products such as aerosol cans.

Today the company is in the third generation of family ownership and has branches in Berlin ( New Hampshire ) and De Witt ( Iowa ). Worldwide sales partners are supplied from the USA. However, in Europe , where they have been available since the early 1960s, there are manufacturing facilities in Sweden, Italy and Switzerland for the local market.

functionality

The air freshener is supplied welded in a plastic sleeve. It consists of an absorbent, open-pored felt - like cardboard box that is printed on both sides and soaked with fragrances and additives.

To activate and distribute the fragrances , a small part of the cover is removed and the hanger is attached. Depending on the size of the opening in the plastic film and the surrounding air flow, the fragrances are now distributed in the surrounding air. The cover should be pulled down one centimeter every week so that odorous substances are released evenly into the vehicle interior.

Side effects

In comparison to odor neutralizers, so -called “air fresheners” only cover the room odors ; they can cause allergic reactions and headaches.

Many consumers see the film cover as packaging waste and, contrary to the manufacturer's instructions, remove it completely. In this way, the greatest possible amount of fragrances is released within a short time, the concentrated odor impression leads to overstimulation and often to headaches .

range

In addition to the so-called Classic Line with over 40 varieties, other series are also offered: the Cocktail Trees (Piña Colada, Mai-Tai, Margarita) as well as Sentiment (Relax, Passion, Power, Energie) and Rock Range (Citrus Flames, Born to Rock , Delicious, Wild Child).

In 2011 the Designer Edition was introduced, which was preceded by a competition. As part of the Wunderbaum design competition on the Internet, fans were allowed to design their own little tree and have it rated by other users. Four motifs were selected from over 2000 design suggestions: ice cream, geisha, roots and letters. The competition took place on the company's Facebook page. During the competition, the site was able to achieve a high number of hits. Over 70,000 page views and over 10,000 visitors were received. According to the company, the winners meet the lifestyle of a trendy, modern target group and inspire with their characteristic design. The motifs have been available in stores as part of the Designer Edition since October 2011 .

Despite the diverse range, at least in Germany, the same trees are always best sold. According to the company, the tastes of German consumers are quite old. It should be noted that fruity varieties are generally more popular in the east than in the west. Among the new fragrances, only the Black Classic note was able to rank among the ten most popular fragrances. With a share of more than 27%, the vanilla flavor variety leads by a long way.

Trademark and design protection

In the USA, the design of the Little Trees scent trees is protected by a total of six image and shape trademarks. Aside from air fresheners, the trademark rights also cover stickers, office supplies, clothing and bags. In Germany, the wonder tree is protected by 13 figurative marks and one shape mark.

While there are currently no known legal disputes in Germany, the US parent company Car-Freshner Corporation is known for pursuing its trademark rights extremely consistently. Several companies have successfully been sued for infringing trademark rights.

In 2005, Car-Freshner Corporation sued Rite Way Wholesale and Distributors, Inc. of New York for importing a copy of the Vanilla Pride Little Tree and selling it in the United States. The Stars & Stripes design and the vanilla fragrance were also adopted. The marketing had to be stopped and compensation paid out.

In 2006, Miracle Products was sued for launching an air freshener called Little Tee and promoting it under the domain little-tees.com . Only one letter differentiated the domain from that of the Little Trees . The Car-Freshner Corporation therefore demanded an immediate cessation of sale, combined with the destruction of the remaining products. The company also demanded damages in an unknown amount.

Another case was successfully sued in 2006. In the United Kingdom -based firm Tetrosyl Ltd. back then produced a fir-shaped air freshener, which had distinctive elements of the wonder tree. The product was then discontinued.

In the same year, Dale Detwiler, a well-known manufacturer of greeting cards and gift items in the USA , produced a greeting card that smelled and glowed in the dark. The shape was identical to that of the miracle tree. This case was also successfully sued.

In October 2011, the Car-Freshner Corporation sued before the US District Court Northern District of New York against Getty Images . The subject of the lawsuit were photos on which motifs with the miracle tree can be found, such as panoramic pictures from a car in which the said miracle tree hangs on the rearview mirror.

Also in 2011, the Car-Freshner Corporation sued Beck & Call, which marketed a similarly designed range of air fresheners as a promotional gift to its customers and interested parties.

The Bulgarian manufacturer Balev Eood was founded by Julius Sämann Ltd. because of the alleged similarity of the Areon air freshener range. sued before the Norwegian Industrial Property Office (NIPO) . Specifically, it was the Areon Airplane series , which had the shape of an airplane. In this case, however, the lawsuit failed with the grounds for the judgment that there was no likelihood of confusion. The company Balev Eood changed the design of the Areon air fresheners fundamentally.

At the end of 2015, a legal dispute with Exotica Fresheners Co. was decided in favor of Car-Freshner Corporation . A similar packaging design was complained about , as was the use of similar colors and product names. Exotica Fresheners Co. had to change the design and pay $ 52,000 in damages to Car-Freshner Corporation . This decision has been discussed controversially in the US press.

In mid-2017, the Austrian craft platform "4betterdays.com" was launched by Julius Säman Ltd. successfully sued for omission. "So far, the matter has already cost us more than 30,000 euros," said managing director of the Austrian platform Elmar Frischmann in an interview with Austrian media. The basis of this complaint was a wooden tree made by hand from stone pine. 4betterdays.com was sentenced not only to pay all of the litigation costs, but also to publish the verdict. In mid-September 2017, an initial agreement was reached between 4betterdays.com and Julius Säman Ltd. It was agreed that Julius Säman Ltd. waived the publication of the judgment in the amount of EUR 37,000. Instead, a compensation payment of EUR 10,000 was made from 4betterdays.com. However, the release of customer data and data from suppliers from 4betterdays.com to Julius Säman Ltd. is still open. This was set down in the court ruling in order to be able to quantify the final amount of damage. With reference to concerns under data protection law - and above all to the transfer of data to third parties - 4betterdays.com refuses to disclose the data. At the beginning of October, execution proceedings against 4betterdays.com were initiated at the Innsbruck District Court. In November 2017, 4betterdays.com gave in and submitted the required customer and supplier data. This handover took place to the best of our knowledge and belief and was prepared with the greatest care. In addition, as evidence of the destruction of the remaining stone pine trees, stone pine chips were sent to the legal representative of Julius Säman Ltd. shipped.

Wonder tree in popular culture

The wonder tree and its contour have become part of popular culture. They play an important role in numerous films ( Repoman (1985), König der Fischer (1991), Sieben (1995)) or are (secondary) details as in 10 Items or Less (2006), Cleaner (2007), Der Tatortreiniger ( 2011), Despicable Me (2010) or The Golden Glove (2019). Wonder trees are central to the greaser subculture, a youth culture of working class children that emerged from street gangs in the USA in the 1950s: no pimped-up vehicle is complete without the appropriate scent tree. A corresponding scene can now be found in the rural areas of Scandinavia.

  • Accessories on the hat rack of a limousine. Scandinavia (2005).

  • Wonder tree as a costume. Split (2008).

  • Oversized wonder tree in packaging. Globe City Gallery , Newcastle upon Tyne (2008).

  • Giant miracle trees as Christmas trees. GPO Melbourne, Australia (2007).

  • Giant miracle trees in the front yard (2007).

  • Wonder tree as a symbol for the 'forest-fresh Minister of State' Anders Fogh (Rasmussen) . Denmark (2006).

  • Giant steel miracle tree, odorless. Thayngen, Canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

  • Giant, odorless wonder tree in the Pure Evil Genius exhibition, London (2007).

  • Wonder tree contour as a light element. Tuomas Laitinen , Finland (2009).

  • Oversized, moss-filled wonder tree contour on a site fence, direction of smell according to the label: spring forest. Edina Tokodi , Brooklyn, New York (2009).

Sponsorship

Little trees are often promoted in motorsport . Among other things, Little Trees was the official sponsor of the Formula 3 race in Italy in 1986 . Likewise was Little Trees sponsor of the Porsche teams in Germany and is currently sponsor of NASCAR driver Mike Olsen .

See also

Web links

Commons : Wonder Tree  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

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  1. ↑ a b The ten: ... most popular wonder tree fragrances - mobility. In: Spiegel Online . November 11, 2008, accessed June 9, 2018 .
  2. ↑ http://www.tz.de/auto/duftbaum-beliebenestenautoduefte-1047010.html
  3. ↑ http://www.genios.de/presse-archiv/artikel/COBU/20150521/dufte-dieser-fraenkische-tueftler-w/3137037871.html
  4. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/magazine/who-made-little-tree-air-fresheners.html
  5. ↑ http://www.little-trees.ie/little-trees-history
  6. ↑ a b Katharina Blansjaar: The fir tree out of the bag . In: NZZ am Sonntag . tape 9 , no. 39 . Zurich September 26, 2010, p. 103 ( here online [accessed September 27, 2010]).
  7. ↑ http://www.wunder-baum.de/presse-download
  8. ↑ Press release_WUNDERBAUM_Eis.pdf
  9. ↑ https://www.designschutznews.de/2011/10/risk-agenturfoto-wunder-baum-gegen-getty-images/
  10. ↑ https://dockets.justia.com/search?query=Julius+Samann+LTD
  11. ↑ http://www.happi.com/contents/view_breaking-news/2005-11-11/car-freshner-corp-scores-victory-over-counter/
  12. ↑ http://www.markenbusiness.com/de/news.php?newsid=4326
  13. ↑ http://oami.europa.eu/pdf/natcourt/Julius_Samann.pdf
  14. ↑ http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2006-03-24/349745/
  15. ↑ http://www.shopsave.de/aktuelles/artikel.html?tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=554&tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&cHash=f5d249a8ba5e348a9dc077b1d9cd2304  ( no longer available page , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.shopsave.de  
  16. ↑ http://de.scribd.com/doc/52085715/Complaint-Freshner
  17. ↑ http://www.worldipreview.com/article/norway-court-rules-in-air-freshener-case
  18. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/20/nyregion/small-rival-loses-trademark-suit-involving-car-scents.html
  19. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/nyregion/car-scent-rivals-fight-in-trademark-suit.html
  20. ↑ STANDARD Verlagsgesellschaft mbH: Because of pine scented tree: Wonder tree manufacturer sued Tyrolean platform . In: derStandard.at . ( derstandard.at [accessed on July 11, 2017]).
  21. ↑ Wunder-Baum-Manufacturer sued Tyrolean online platform . ( futurezone.at [accessed on July 11, 2017]).
  22. ↑ "Wunder-Baum" against "Zirbenduftbaum" - tirol.ORF.at. Retrieved July 11, 2017 .
  23. ↑ STANDARD Verlagsgesellschaft mbH: Dispute Tyrolean pine tree vs. "Wunder-Baum" goes into the next round . In: derStandard.at . ( derstandard.at [accessed on October 23, 2017]).
  24. ↑ Second instance in the dispute of the scent trees - Landesstudio Tirol. Retrieved October 23, 2017 .
  25. ↑ Mag. Sylvia Waldstätten, judge: FAILURE JUDGMENT IN THE NAME OF THE REPUBLIC. (PDF) Retrieved October 23, 2017 .
  26. ↑ fragrance Tree dispute: Tyrolean company is executed - tirol.ORF.at. Retrieved October 23, 2017 .
  27. ↑ STANDARD Verlagsgesellschaft mbH: The scent of stone pine against "miracle tree": Tyrolean company is executed . In: derStandard.at . ( derstandard.at [accessed on October 23, 2017]).
  28. ↑ Swiss stone pine vs. "Wunder-Baum": Tyrolean company is executed . In: The press . ( diepresse.com [accessed October 23, 2017]).
  29. ↑ Tiroler Tageszeitung Online: Zirbenbaum vs. “Wunder-Baum”: Tyrolean company bows to judgment | Tiroler Tageszeitung online - news from now! In: Tiroler Tageszeitung Online . ( tt.com [accessed March 12, 2020]).
  30. ↑ "Wunder-Baum" brings Tyrolean stone pine trees to their knees . In: The press . ( diepresse.com [accessed January 8, 2018]).
  31. ↑ fragrance Tree dispute: Tyrolean company relents - tirol.ORF.at. Retrieved January 8, 2018 .
  32. ↑ Scent tree becomes a lawsuit / specifically from January 5th, 2018 at 6.30 p.m. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 8, 2018 ; accessed on January 8, 2018 (Austrian German). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / tvthek.orf.at