Cease and desist letters are no fun. They are no fun to send, and they are certainly no fun to receive. They are usually the first shot across the bow when a trademark owner believes that someone is using a mark that is just a little too close for comfort. Instead of jumping straight into … Read more
Whenever I am talking to someone about their trademark, the topic of using a TM or ® comes up. First, which should one use? Second, when should they use it? The first question is easy. If you have a federally registered trademark on the mark being used, then the ® is for you. Everyone else gets to use … Read more
One of my favorite legal concepts is “genericide” or “genericize.” That is when the public takes a perfectly good trademark and makes it value-less to the trademark owner by turning it into an everyday word. I like the drama of “genericide” because it truly is a brand-killer. Often, it is when the marketing has been … Read more
The use of a live person’s name for a trademark can be a problem. In general, the USPTO is circumspect when it comes to allowing one entity to have sole dominion over a person’s name. They want someone to be able put their own name on their business. That means you can name your … Read more
We have previously discussed descriptive marks and some problems they have. But what if you really, really want one? Can you still protect it? It depends on whether or not it can eventually be recognized by customers as something more than a description of your goods and services. If so, then the mark has gained … Read more
The 4-H Youth Development Program is the youth outreach program from the land grant Universities, Cooperative Extension Services, and the US Department of Agriculture. The 4-H Name & Emblem incorporates its focus on Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. Growing up in a rural school, I remember sitting on the gym bleachers through meetings that started … Read more
Original image from Everkinetic Cybersquatting is generally bad faith registration of another’s trademark in a domain name. Under section 43(d) of the Lanham Act (also known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act or ACPA), a person shall be liable to the owner of a trademark if that person has a bad faith intent to … Read more
Federal law prohibits anyone other than the American National Red Cross and “its duly authorized employees and agents and the sanitary and hospital authorities of the armed forces of the United States from using the Greek red cross on a white ground or the words ‘Red Cross’ or ‘Geneva Cross.’” The law states that “[w]hoever wears … Read more
Certification marks are special types of marks that shows that the mark owner certified that another’s goods or services met or exceeded specific standards as set by the mark owner. A certification mark can be a word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination of those. Some certification marks that you may recognize include: ROQUEFORT … Read more
Trademarks can be anything that tells me as a customer that this product or services that I am trying to buy today came from the same source as the last time I bought it. Or put another way, when my nephew has something on his wish list, what can I use to make sure that … Read more