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Archives For April 2014

How an Iowa Company Trademarked “Tweet”

April 24, 2014 — Leave a comment

We’ve previously explained how trademark rights stem from actual use in commerce. Well, for one small Iowa based company, their early use of the word “Tweet” was enough to beat out tech giant Twitter! The history of this case is a great example of why it is important to seek federal protection as soon as possible.

First Use

Iowa based Twittad, LLC, began using the mark “Let Your Ad Meet Tweets” back in 2008. It quickly filed for federal protection and obtained a registration a year later without any objection from Twitter (or from any other company for that matter).

As a result, Twittad obtained exclusive rights to use that mark as well as any other mark that would be confusingly similar in connection to online advertising. Not surprisingly, Twitter, Inc. became upset about this when it learned about the registration!

The Lawsuit

Unfortunately for Twitter, in order for it to obtain rights to use the word “Tweet”, the corporation had to file a petition seeking to cancel Twittad’s trademark registration.

It filed suit and argued that the word “Tweet” was already a famous Twitter term prior to Twittad’s filing of its trademark application and, further, that Twittad’s registration and use of the word “Tweet” was an unfair attempt “to exploit the popularity and fame of Twitter’s TWEET brand.”

Twitter used this reasoning to claim that Twittad’s registration should be canceled and that Twitter should be deemed the owner of the “Tweet” mark.

First Use Principle

However, Twittad’s registration created a legal presumption that said Twittad was the rightful owner of the mark. As a practical matter, that meant Twitter was forced to either deal with Twittad and settle on terms that might be favorable to Twittad or spend a lot of money and time fighting Twittad in court. Not surprisingly, the parties settled.

The Settlement

Although the specific terms were not disclosed, it is clear that Twitter obtained the rights to the mark and Twittad was granted the right to keep using “Let Your Ad Meet Tweets.” The parties did not disclose whether Twitter paid Twittad, but based on the strength of Twittad’s case, it is likely that some chunk of cash changed hands.

In short, Twittad lost exclusive rights to the word, but it was allowed to keep using the mark and likely pocketed some nice spare change.

The Lesson

Twittad’s registration gave it the upper hand and is a great example of the power of a federal trademark registration. If you have a brand, you should check out MightyMarks.com to learn how you can protect your rights!

Image Credit: Thinkstock/Kristina Heiner

*This article is very general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. Readers with legal questions should consult with an attorney prior to making any legal decisions.

In Trademark Disputes, Trademark Law
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Justice Explained: Trademark Infringement & Defenses

April 24, 2014 — 4 Comments

Business owners should understand what constitutes trademark infringement before they encounter it, regardless if they are the enforcer or alleged infringer. You should also understand common defenses from both sides as well. In this post we will cover the basic elements of an infringement claim and common defenses that might hold up.

Trademark Infringement – Likelihood of Confusion

The most common infringement claim is likelihood of confusion. An infringer commits trademark infringement if they use another party’s trademark to sell goods or provide a service if their use is likely to cause consumer confusion as to the source of the goods or services.

Let’s revisit Evan’s Coffee House, an example we discussed earlier this week. Assuming Evan holds a federal registration for “Evan’s” in connection to the sale of coffee, he will be able to use that registration to prevent others from opening an “Evan’s Coffee House;” but that’s not all.

Evan can likely prevent someone from using “Evan’s” in connection to an eat-in-bakery if the services provided are similar and he may even be able to prevent someone from selling “Evan’s” coffee grounds in a grocery store. Additionally, Evan can prevent alternate spellings such as Even’s, Evan, Even, Evens, and maybe even Heavens coffee from being used to sell coffee if he can show that consumers are likely to be confused as to the source of the goods.

Notice that actual confusion is not required. All that is required is a likelihood of confusion to prove trademark infringement.

So, what happens when Evan sends a cease and desist letter to Evens Coffee House? Several things can happen, most likely of which is the alleged infringer will claim there is no likelihood of confusion or he might raise some other defense.

Trademark Defenses

Alleged infringers will often raise the issue of confusion and claim there is no confusion or likely confusion. When that happens the parties will usually negotiate their various positions and hopefully avoid litigation. Of course, some alleged infringers have affirmative defenses they can raise, specifically descriptive use and nominative use. When these affirmative defenses exist, an alleged infringer might be allowed to use the mark, even without permission.

Descriptive fair use occurs when the alleged infringer uses a trademark in a way that is solely for descriptive purposes and is unlikely to cause consumer confusion. In the case of Evan’s Coffee Shop, another Evan could open up a coffee shop and include in it’s marketing materials the fact that Even Doe is the owner and manager of the shop, provided the materials don’t create the impression that the new shop is related to Evan’s Coffee Shop.

Nominative fair use occurs when the alleged infringer uses a mark and there is no other way to refer to the good or service. For example, a car repair shop may say they repair BMWs, provided they don’t use the mark in a way to indicate they are an official BMW repair shop. This is because there is no other efficient way to alert consumers that they repair BMWs.

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Image Credit: Thinkstock/Willard

*This article is very general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. Readers with legal questions should consult with an attorney prior to making any legal decisions.

In Trademark Law , ,
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5 Keys to Protect Your Trademark

April 22, 2014 — 8 Comments

Last week we wrote about What Everybody Ought to Know About Trademark Law and this week we will dive deeper to explain how to obtain and protect your rights. We’ll cover how trademark rights stem from use, why common law rights have geographical limitations, how marks are associated with specific goods or services, why only distinctive marks may be protected, and why trademark registrations are encouraged.

1. Common Law Rights Stem From Use

Generally speaking, you must use your mark in commerce before you may seek protection. As an example, say Evan begins marketing his new coffee shop, Evan’s Coffee Shop, in May and opens for business on July 1. His date of first use is July 1 and he can then begin using the ™ symbol.

2. Geographical Limitations

Common law trademark rights are limited to geographical areas. For example, if Evan’s Coffee Shop is in Chicago, he can prevent other coffee shops in Chicago from using the name “Evan’s” with respect to coffee shops. However, his rights don’t extend to San Francisco because his rights are limited to Chicago and nearby areas where he is likely to expand.

3. Goods or Services Limitations

Trademark rights only extend to specific goods and services. In Evan’s case, the operation of a coffee shop is his service. Thus, if another Evan opens Evan’s Auto Shop in Chicago, our friend Evan couldn’t prevent the auto shop from using the name Evan. But, Evan can stop others from using the name “Evan’s” in connection to other coffee shops and perhaps also in connection to similar businesses like bakeries. A good example is Delta, which could mean faucets or an airline. That dual use is allowed because it is unlikely consumers will think their Delta pilot is actually a faucet salesman.

4. Distinctive Requirement

Marks may not be protected unless they are distinctive and capable of identifying a particular source of the good or service. A mark which is arbitrary or suggestive is likely distinctive and can usually receive protection. However, if a mark is descriptive or generic, protection is harder to obtain.

In Evan’s case, his name in relation to the sale of coffee is arbitrary and, assuming there are no other barriers, he can likely protect “Evan’s” in relation to the sale of coffee. However, “coffee shop” is descriptive and generic and, therefore, he cannot protect that portion of his mark.

5. Registration is Encouraged

We mentioned above that common law rights are limited to specific geographic areas. Luckily for Evan, he can obtain nationwide rights with a federal registration with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (he also has the option to register at the state level). Once registered he can use the ® symbol and he will have nationwide protection and also a legal presumption that he owns the mark.

Register Your Mark!

If you want to register your mark be sure to visit MightyMarks.com to learn how we can help you obtain your registration!

Image: Thinkstock/Silvia Antunes

*This article is very general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. Readers with legal questions should consult with an attorney prior to making any legal decisions.

In Trademark Law , , , ,
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What Everybody Ought to Know About Trademark Law

April 17, 2014 — 7 Comments

At its core, trademark laws are intended to accomplish two things: (1) prevent consumer confusion; and (2) protect a mark owners’ investment into their goodwill. That sounds simple enough, but there are many nuisances of trademark law that we will cover on this blog in the months to come. But before we get there, we’ll explain more about the purpose behind trademark law, the protection trademark law provides to mark owners, and how it is different from other types of intellectual property.

Purpose of Trademark law

Protecting a name, slogan, or logo can provide immense value to a business, but the real intent of trademark law is actually to protect consumers. Essentially, trademark laws exist to prevent consumers from being duped into buying a product or engaging a service provider that might be trying to profit off the goodwill of other businesses.

For example, when someone buys a BMW they believe they are buying “the ultimate driving machine.” If other car companies were allowed to name their cars BMW, then consumers would be confused as to which car is really the ultimate machine and which car is simply a nice looking car with an old engine under the hood.

To prevent such confusion, trademark laws allow BMW to protect their mark and slogan and prevent other companies from using the BMW name and slogan without BMW’s permission. Of course the scope of that protection is worth discussion as well.

Scope of Protection

The first person or company to use a mark in commerce may claim rights to the mark. If the mark is only used in one state, state protection is available. If the mark is used across state lines, then federal protection is available. In either case, mark owners can rely on both common law (judge made law) and statutory law (laws enacted by legislatures) if the mark owner registers the mark.

Once a mark owner owns the rights to the mark, the owner may then prevent other individuals and companies (including nonprofits) from using the mark in any way that is likely to cause consumer confusion. Note that actual confusion is not required. A finding of likely confusion is sufficient to prevent another from using your protected mark. But, trademark law is unique in that your protection only applies to those goods and services that you sell or provide using your mark. Now that you know trademark basics, don’t make the mistake of claiming *patent* protection of your company name!

Trademark v. Copyright v. Patent

Lastly, everything we’ve discussed above relates to trademark law, which is distinctive of patent and copyright law and, unfortunately, many people (and many lawyers) use these terms interchangeably.

Trademark law protects names, slogans, and other items that serve as a source identifier of a particular good or service. Trademark protection lasts for as long as a mark owner continues to use a mark in commerce. Trademark infringement occurs when someone uses a protected trademark without permission.

Copyright law protects creative works including music, dance choreography, computer code, and other types of works. Copyright protection only lasts for the life of the author plus some additional time period, usually 70 years. Copyright infringement occurs when someone reproduces, distributes, or displays, an identical work or a work that is substantially similar to the protected work.

Patent law protects mainly inventions and processes (but not discoveries). Patent protection usually lasts only 20 years. Patent infringement occurs when someone makes or sells a patented subject matter without authorization.

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Image Credit: Thinkstock/alexskopje

*This article is very general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. Readers with legal questions should consult with an attorney prior to making any legal decisions.

In Trademark Law
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How to Learn Trademark Law (Hint: Use Mighty Marks®)

April 15, 2014 — Leave a comment

Trademark law is confusing, even for lawyers.

But the Mighty Marks® team is kind of obsessive about trademarks; so much so that it is the only legal field in which we practice. And that means we can provide clients and other lawyers and law firms with a unique, attorney-backed, trademark service.

One thing we’ve learned about trademark law and our industry is that this field is confusing to many but interesting to nearly everyone. So to help you we’ve launched the Mighty Marks® Blog!

What to Expect

Each week we will bring you lessons from the world of trademarks including information on filing and protecting marks and also lessons to spot and prevent trademark infringement. Of course, there is a lot of fun in the trademark world so we will also bring you news and trends including why Walmart’s attempt to own the yellow smiley face was denied and how Jay Z and Beyonce are seeking (so far successfully) to protect their daughter’s name, Blue Ivy Carter, using trademark law.

Our goal is to provide helpful and entertaining guidance. In the meantime, we invite you to visit our website at www.mightymarks.com.

Connect With Us!

And be sure to visit our social media channels to stay up to date on the latest news in the trademark industry! 

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In Trademark Law
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