Posts Tagged: "Trademark rights"

Trademark Enforcement: A More nuanced game than whack-a-mole

A successful advertising campaign promotes goodwill and brand identity, spurring sales, revenue, and profit.  But success begets imitation.  All too often, imitators attempt to hijack a brand and, with it, all the blood, sweat, tears, and money invested in it. While there are some similarities, the unfortunate reality is trademark enforcement is more nuanced than a game of whack-a-mole.  Not every “mole” is worth whacking, some that are whacked may not respond favorably, and sometimes the mallet just is not strong enough to play. So, what should a trademark owner consider when determining whether to take enforcement action?  The first step is to identify the scope and strength of the trademark.  Next, it is important to determine whether enforcement will obtain the desired results.  Lastly, the impact of inaction should be examined.

The Chinese “Super Trademark”: A Creative Strategy for Overseas IP Protection

Enforcement of trademark rights in China is an ongoing issue faced by numerous corporations.  Invalidating or canceling a trademark registration in the Chinese market is time-consuming and costly.  The best way to defend your company’s valuable intellectual property assets is to put in place as many protections as possible.  If your company owns a creative design mark, consider going beyond the standard trademark registration and getting the “super trademark” by obtaining copyright registration for this artistic design element.

Managing and Protecting a Brand in the Age of Social Media

In 2016 social media users reached 2.3 billion. With an audience made up of consumers, competitors and industry influencers, social media is a melting pot of opportunity and risk. Social platforms have quickly become a go-to platform for engaging with customers. If used correctly, companies have the potential to build an online persona that stands out and drives commercial success… When big brands enforce their trademark rights against potentially infringing smaller entities, the David-and-Goliath-type battle can help to alienate the consumer market. Brands such as M&Ms are now using online personas – developed on social media – to gently enforce trademark rights.

Trademarks: A basic primer on trademarks and trademark law

Trademarks differ from copyrights, which protect original artistic or literary works, and patents, which protect inventions. A trademark primarily protects names, logos or symbols that identify a particular creator of goods or provider of services. More specifically, a trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. In most instances the term “trademark” is simply used to refer to what the law calls either a trademark or a service mark, so do not be surprised if you see a service mark (an example would be Roto Rooter) simply referred to as a trademark by judges, lawyers and business people.

Amid Cultural Debate on Political Correctness, Trademarks with Racial Overtones Look Set for Supreme Court

Two cases making their way through the Federal courts may force the Supreme Court to consider the issue of what sorts of trademarks should be considered “disparaging,” and whether the government may lawfully prevent the registration of such trademarks… The Redskins appealed to the Fourth Circuit in August 2015 and the parties’ and amici briefs have been rolling ever since. As of April 25, 2016, the Redskins have petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review their case, skipping over the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal.