Question on uniqueness of trademarks and brands

[HMS_Irruncible]

@commasense

But at least I didn’t accidentally let my mark lapse, thanks to this thread.

It’s good karma for being a good samaritan. Thanks!

[Rysto]

@commasense

So I quickly did a search on my mark and found that it had been registered on June 4, 2008, six years ago yesterday! The good news is that the USPTO gives you a six-month grace period on filing. The bad news is the grace period fee doubles the regular fee. So if I had filed yesterday I would have paid $200. Today I had to pay $400. :smack:

If you’re posting via time machine, wouldn’t be easier to send yourself a message through time, reminding yourself to send in the application?

[Max_Torque]

@Balthisar

Holy cow! If I read that statute right, I can only ever possibly use the word “Olympic” in certain parts of Washington state and under certain conditions! I can’t call my restaurant (in Greektown) “Olympic Gardens” or even announce that my other-named restaurant serve “Olympic Proportions™.”

The problem is that confusion we were talking about earlier; they don’t want the public thinking that your restaurant is endorsed by the Olympics. If you called your restaurant “Mount Olympus”, assuming there weren’t any other area restaurants using that name, you might be okay.

[Acsenray]

Terms like “Olympic” and “Red Cross” have special status and likelihood of confusion is not the operative standard. They are reserved by international treaty and statutory law for specific organizations. It’s not just that they don’t want consumers to be confused by uses of the word “Olympic,” because clearly we can conceive of such uses that wouldn’t be confusing. It’s that they want to give elevated status to these organizations and their marks.

Under copyright law

Tsk, tsk.

But when it comes down deciding to register or not, don’t accept advice from a bunch of anonymous idiots at an online forum. Talk to a lawyer with intellectual property experience.

And if you’re going to take a message board as a starting point for informational purposes, I’d recommend this excellent article rather than this GQ thread.

[Kevbo]

I love the dope!

Even the wrong information in this thread is fairly close to the mark, and has been corrected without bruised egos escalating it into a flame war.

On other message boards, I have seen so much crap posted related to PTO issues (usually patent law) that I can’t even begin to figure out where to start fighting the ignorance, and just have to log off before my head explodes.

I will add that this is a common enough issue that there are companies that specialize in helping you establish a trademark. They usually have at least one lawyer on staff, but in most cases you don’t really need to be paying the “billable hour” rate of an IP lawyer.

[commasense]

@acsenray

And if you’re going to take a message board as a starting point for informational purposes, I’d recommend this excellent article rather than this GQ thread.

@acsenray's Staff Report

Third, a trademark doesn’t have a fixed life. It lasts as long as the name remains distinctive and consumers associate it with the trademark holder’s product.

Hmmm. Now I remember why I didn’t think trademarks had to be renewed. You owe me $200, acsenray!

[Acsenray]

@commasense

Hmmm. Now I remember why I didn’t think trademarks had to be renewed. You owe me $200, acsenray!

A trademark has an indefinite life. A trademark registration is not the same thing as a trademark.

[commasense]

I accept your apology. But I’d rather have the $200.

[Balthisar]

@acsenray

Terms like “Olympic” and “Red Cross” have special status and likelihood of confusion is not the operative standard. They are reserved by international treaty and statutory law for specific organizations. It’s not just that they don’t want consumers to be confused by uses of the word “Olympic,” because clearly we can conceive of such uses that wouldn’t be confusing. It’s that they want to give elevated status to these organizations and their marks.

If only they’d give “elevated status” to marks such as “official” or “authorized” or “national” and whatnot.

On the other hand, states powers and all that. Has this been tested in court? If I have my own family pub here in Michigan (“The Olympic Tavern,” let’s say), and I don’t conduct interstate commerce, and I take pains to ensure that nothing comes from out of state suppliers, would I expect some type of federal enforcement? I’m guessing that if it’s not mirror in state law, none of the local authorities are going to cite me. What are the feds likely to try to do? What type of arguments would they attempt in court?

[Acsenray]

@commasense

I accept your apology. But I’d rather have the $200.

I know you’re trying to be funny, but this is pretty serious and a perfect example of why we don’t give or accept legal advice on a message board. A qualified lawyer you hired would have been able to clear up your confusion and set you straight. An article on the Internet (or in a book or a magazine) doesn’t understand that you are misunderstanding something.

@Balthisar

If only they’d give “elevated status” to marks such as “official” or “authorized” or “national” and whatnot.

I don’t understand this sentence.

On the other hand, states powers and all that. Has this been tested in court? If I have my own family pub here in Michigan (“The Olympic Tavern,” let’s say), and I don’t conduct interstate commerce, and I take pains to ensure that nothing comes from out of state suppliers, would I expect some type of federal enforcement? I’m guessing that if it’s not mirror in state law, none of the local authorities are going to cite me. What are the feds likely to try to do? What type of arguments would they attempt in court?

I don’t have specifics at hand, but, very generally speaking, the Olympic committees and Red Cross organizations sue all the time to protect their marks and they routinely win.

[commasense]

@acsenray

I know you’re trying to be funny, but this is pretty serious and a perfect example of why we don’t give or accept legal advice on a message board. A qualified lawyer you hired would have been able to clear up your confusion and set you straight. An article on the Internet (or in a book or a magazine) doesn’t understand that you are misunderstanding something.

I take your point, but I really was only trying to be funny. Obviously, I take full responsibility for my own mistakes. And it wasn’t confusion as much as just forgetting what I read at the time I filed the initial application. I don’t think I used my lawyer for this filing, and even if he had told me at the time that I had to renew six and ten years hence, I doubt I would have remembered. Even qualified legal advice can’t overcome a weak mind!

[commasense]

@Rysto

@commasense

So I quickly did a search on my mark and found that it had been registered on June 4, 2008, six years ago yesterday! The good news is that the USPTO gives you a six-month grace period on filing. The bad news is the grace period fee doubles the regular fee. So if I had filed yesterday I would have paid $200. Today I had to pay $400.

If you’re posting via time machine, wouldn’t be easier to send yourself a message through time, reminding yourself to send in the application?

:smack: June 4, 2002. I read your post a couple of times before I caught what you were talking about.

[Annie-Xmas]

ABBA is an anacronym of the member’s initials (Anni-Frid, Benny, Bjorn, and Agnetha). In order to use the name, they had to permission from theAbba herring people.

[Acsenray]

That sounds like an urban legend to me. But maybe Swedish law has a different standard for trademarks.

[Ignatz]

How about my “Gillette widget® disposable scraper & cutter-5 Single-Edge Stainless Steel Blades”? It says “© 1980, 1982 The Gillette Company, Safety Razor Division, Box 61, Boston, MA 02199 U.S.A. Marca Registrada, T.M. Reg. U.S.Pat. and T.M. Off. U.S. Pat. No 4,182, 033; 4,238,883”. Bought at Lowe’s Hardware several years ago. SKU 47400 11540.

[Acsenray]

What’s your question, Ignatz?