Are you aware that you can actually dilute the value of your company’s trademarks by improperly using them? If a mark is not federally registered, use the “TM” or “SM” designation with the mark until it achieves registration. Once it’s registered, always use the "®" designation. If you use the mark in a textual sentence, place it in all caps, surround it with quotations, and use the proper designation to the right of it. By doing this, everyone who sees it will know that you claim trademark rights and others should choose a different mark.
The Trademark Company
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Tips from the Trademark Insider: Make Sure You Own or Have Permission to Use All Intellectual Property
Ensure that you or your company owns or has appropriate permission to use all intellectual property (e.g., text, graphics, photos, video) that is used in your publications, Web site, and in all other media. More copyright problems arise in this area than any other. You may have conceived the idea, supervised the work's creation, and paid for it, but that does not mean you own the work. You may have only a limited license for a specific use. When you wish to use the work on another project or in another medium, you may learn that a separate fee and permission is required.
The Trademark Company
The Trademark Company
Monday, November 23, 2009
Tips from the Trademark Insider: Agreements with Employees of Other Company Employees
Obtain a written assignment from all employees or otherwise assigning ownership of all intellectual property that they create (within the scope of their service to the company) to the company. Such a form also can be used to impose confidentiality obligations on employees or otherwise and to require conflict of interest disclosure.
Such terms are typically added to an Employee Manual or the like and distributed on the first day of an employee’s employment with the express provision that employment is subject to the acceptance of all terms and conditions maintained in the agreement.
The Trademark Company
Such terms are typically added to an Employee Manual or the like and distributed on the first day of an employee’s employment with the express provision that employment is subject to the acceptance of all terms and conditions maintained in the agreement.
The Trademark Company
Friday, November 20, 2009
Tips from the Trademark Insider: Obtain Domain Names
Obtain domain name registrations for all available trademarks you own or plan to use in the future, and pursue obtaining registrations from others (i.e., domain name disputes) if you or your association has superior rights to the domain name.
The Trademark Company
The Trademark Company
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tips from the Trademark Insider: Police the Use of Your Intellectual Property.
Police the use of your copyrights and trademarks by others and enforce your rights where necessary. Use periodic Web searches, among other means, to do so. Enforcement does not necessarily involve the filing of a lawsuit. It does involve knowing who is out there, what they are using, and whether what they are using infringes upon any of your rights.
The Trademark Company
The Trademark Company
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Tips from the Trademark Insider: Beware of "Domain Name Search Engine Submission Services"
Yesterday we here at The Trademark Company received the attached "Important Notice" concerning submitting one of our background domain names to search engines. Should anyone else out there receive similar notices please note that this is not a notice that your domain name is expiring nor is a response required prior to the requested reply date.
This is merely an advertisement for a company's services done, in our opinion, under the false pretense of necessity.
As always, if you have any questions on this or any other matter email us or just post a reply to our blog.
The Trademark Company
Monday, November 16, 2009
Tips from the Trademark Insider: Use Trademark Notices.
Use trademark notices on all trademarks, service marks, and certification marks owned and used by your association (e.g., TM for non-registered marks and ® for registered marks). While trademark notices are not required, their effective use can significantly enhance your intellectual property rights, including eliminating an "innocent infringement" defense.
The Trademark Company
The Trademark Company
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Fraud Alert: Asian Domain Name Registry Services
For Immediate Release.
Purportedly reputable domain name registrars from Honk Kong and other Far East countries are using a new scheme to drum up domain name registrations among U.S. Trademark registrants.
How it works. U.S. Trademark registrants receive an email from a domain name registrar reporting that they have received an order to register domain names with various TLDs corresponding to the registrant’s registered U.S. Trademarks.
The registrar then reports to the registrant that in searching the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office’s records they “discovered” that the domain names to be registered are identical or highly similar to the trademark holder’s marks.
The registrar then offers the trademark holder the option to register the domain names before the other party does. Unsuspecting trademark holders take the registrar up and register multiple domain names under this veiled threat often for U.S. $50 to U.S. $100 per domain name per year.
In reality this is, at best, a hard marketing sale. At worst, it is a complete scam.
The genius of the plan is that if due diligence is conducted the alleged company referenced in the domain name registrar’s email as the entity which is about to register the domain names actually exists. So the trademark holder believes that their may be an actual threat to their marks.
However, having now witnessed this hundreds of times this routine is truly just a hard sell and U.S. Trademark holders should be aware of this fact before rushing to register such domain names under such an artificial threat.
The Trademark Company
Purportedly reputable domain name registrars from Honk Kong and other Far East countries are using a new scheme to drum up domain name registrations among U.S. Trademark registrants.
How it works. U.S. Trademark registrants receive an email from a domain name registrar reporting that they have received an order to register domain names with various TLDs corresponding to the registrant’s registered U.S. Trademarks.
The registrar then reports to the registrant that in searching the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office’s records they “discovered” that the domain names to be registered are identical or highly similar to the trademark holder’s marks.
The registrar then offers the trademark holder the option to register the domain names before the other party does. Unsuspecting trademark holders take the registrar up and register multiple domain names under this veiled threat often for U.S. $50 to U.S. $100 per domain name per year.
In reality this is, at best, a hard marketing sale. At worst, it is a complete scam.
The genius of the plan is that if due diligence is conducted the alleged company referenced in the domain name registrar’s email as the entity which is about to register the domain names actually exists. So the trademark holder believes that their may be an actual threat to their marks.
However, having now witnessed this hundreds of times this routine is truly just a hard sell and U.S. Trademark holders should be aware of this fact before rushing to register such domain names under such an artificial threat.
The Trademark Company
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Disabled Vet Files Suit Against GMA ABC Alleging Trademark Infringement
Joseph “Sam” Sammartano, the former U.S. Army Policy Development and Training Officer whose designs are used today worldwide to counter terrorism and more, is suing ABC/Disney alleging they used the trademarked phrase AmeriCAN® without his permission. It was used during a segment on the popular Good Morning America broadcast during the week of Sept. 28, 2009.
The complaint, filed by D. Yellen of Ballon Stoll Bader & Nadler P.C. NY, in New York City Federal Court (Docket # 09CV9318), alleges, “The acquired mark of the defendant is so similar to the plaintiff as to be unquestionably be the product of a scheme of deliberate copy by the defendant. As such it is highly likely one or more of the defendants acted in concert (and) with knowing intent…” Paragraph # 17 of the complaint identifies cases of the alleged infringement of the registration AmeriCAN® mark.
“No single brand, trademark or word can make all 300 million citizens react. Every person in the U.S. has a direct kinship with this word, and is perhaps the most recognized brand in the entire world by its name alone. I did not create, nor was I compensated or inspired to design the AmeriCAN® trademark for any entertainment company, especially for their own good. I created it to help protect all people, inspiring students, parents and teachers through a not for profit organization,” said Sammartano.
Jack Campaign of Graham Campaign who notified ABC of the complaint by registered mail stated, “I would only point out at this time that the test of infringement is not whether the marks are identical, but whether they are confusingly similar."
According to the complaint, MediaBistro.com numbers show GMA’s market share actually increased while airing the AmeriCAN® segment -- Click here: Morning Show Ratings: Week of September 28 - mediabistro.com: TVNewser
“There is no justice in this world, there is just us!” Sam states. “Everyone should visit the American Challenge.org (www.americanchallenge.org) for your sake. Call ABC and show corporate America who you are: I CAN, You CAN, We CAN because we are AmeriCAN®.”
The Trademark Company
The complaint, filed by D. Yellen of Ballon Stoll Bader & Nadler P.C. NY, in New York City Federal Court (Docket # 09CV9318), alleges, “The acquired mark of the defendant is so similar to the plaintiff as to be unquestionably be the product of a scheme of deliberate copy by the defendant. As such it is highly likely one or more of the defendants acted in concert (and) with knowing intent…” Paragraph # 17 of the complaint identifies cases of the alleged infringement of the registration AmeriCAN® mark.
“No single brand, trademark or word can make all 300 million citizens react. Every person in the U.S. has a direct kinship with this word, and is perhaps the most recognized brand in the entire world by its name alone. I did not create, nor was I compensated or inspired to design the AmeriCAN® trademark for any entertainment company, especially for their own good. I created it to help protect all people, inspiring students, parents and teachers through a not for profit organization,” said Sammartano.
Jack Campaign of Graham Campaign who notified ABC of the complaint by registered mail stated, “I would only point out at this time that the test of infringement is not whether the marks are identical, but whether they are confusingly similar."
According to the complaint, MediaBistro.com numbers show GMA’s market share actually increased while airing the AmeriCAN® segment -- Click here: Morning Show Ratings: Week of September 28 - mediabistro.com: TVNewser
“There is no justice in this world, there is just us!” Sam states. “Everyone should visit the American Challenge.org (www.americanchallenge.org) for your sake. Call ABC and show corporate America who you are: I CAN, You CAN, We CAN because we are AmeriCAN®.”
The Trademark Company
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Who's Your Patty? Who's Your Patty? - Not McDonald's!
The Lion's Tap restaurant settled its trademark infringement lawsuit against McDonald's over the mega giant's use of the slogan "Who's Your Patty?"
"It's our trademark," said Bonnie Notermann, co-owner of the Eden Prairie restaurant, and "we will be using it."
Lion's Tap filed the lawsuit in federal court in August, claiming the slogan it had used since 2005 had been used by the company to launch its Angus burger.
A notice was filed today in Minneapolis federal court stating that the suit had been settled. "We reached a mutually satisfactory resolution," said Michael Lafeber, attorney for Lion's Tap. "I won't go into the details."
"The matter has been resolved," McDonald's said in an e-mailed statement. "Both parties reached a mutual satisfactory agreement. The terms of that agreement are considered confidential."
Notermann said she also could not go into details, other than to say that Lion's Tap -- which has a single location on Flying Cloud Drive in Eden Prairie -- is keeping the slogan and that it is not lending it or leasing it to McDonald's, the world's largest food-service retailer with more than 31,000 restaurants worldwide.
Does that mean McDonald's will stop using the slogan? "Draw your own conclusions," said Notermann.
Although neither side disclosed how much, if any, money changed hands, Lion's Tap was seeking exclusive use of the phrase and also monetary damages from McDonald's.
However, the stipulation of dismissal filed in federal court indicates the victory might not have been a roaring success financially for Lion's Tap.
"All claims ... are dismissed with prejudice and without costs and disbursements of attorney's fees to either party," Thursday's filing stated.
Lion's Tap, a Twin Cities institution among food aficionados, filed the lawsuit after its owners noticed that McDonald's was using "Who's Your Patty?" in billboards and ads in Minnesota and around the country.
The Trademark Company
"It's our trademark," said Bonnie Notermann, co-owner of the Eden Prairie restaurant, and "we will be using it."
Lion's Tap filed the lawsuit in federal court in August, claiming the slogan it had used since 2005 had been used by the company to launch its Angus burger.
A notice was filed today in Minneapolis federal court stating that the suit had been settled. "We reached a mutually satisfactory resolution," said Michael Lafeber, attorney for Lion's Tap. "I won't go into the details."
"The matter has been resolved," McDonald's said in an e-mailed statement. "Both parties reached a mutual satisfactory agreement. The terms of that agreement are considered confidential."
Notermann said she also could not go into details, other than to say that Lion's Tap -- which has a single location on Flying Cloud Drive in Eden Prairie -- is keeping the slogan and that it is not lending it or leasing it to McDonald's, the world's largest food-service retailer with more than 31,000 restaurants worldwide.
Does that mean McDonald's will stop using the slogan? "Draw your own conclusions," said Notermann.
Although neither side disclosed how much, if any, money changed hands, Lion's Tap was seeking exclusive use of the phrase and also monetary damages from McDonald's.
However, the stipulation of dismissal filed in federal court indicates the victory might not have been a roaring success financially for Lion's Tap.
"All claims ... are dismissed with prejudice and without costs and disbursements of attorney's fees to either party," Thursday's filing stated.
Lion's Tap, a Twin Cities institution among food aficionados, filed the lawsuit after its owners noticed that McDonald's was using "Who's Your Patty?" in billboards and ads in Minnesota and around the country.
The Trademark Company
Get Up, Stand Up, Defend Your Trademark Rights
Bob Marley's heirs are waging a global war on trademark pirates.
Heirs of the Jamaican reggae legend are plunging into the global trademark wars, seeking to enforce their exclusive rights to an image that has grown steadily in scope and appeal since the Jamaican superstar died of brain cancer in 1981 at age 36.
The Marley name, look and sound are estimated to generate an estimated $600 million a year in sales of unlicensed wares. Legal sales are much smaller - just $4 million for his descendants in 2007, according to Forbes magazine. The Marleys refuse to give a figure.
Now the family has hired Toronto-based Hilco Consumer Capital to protect their rights to the brand. Hilco CEO Jamie Salter believes Marley products could be a $1 billion business in a few years.
"The family managed all the rights before Hilco was brought on board," said Marley's fourth son, Rohan - a former linebacker for the University of Miami. "We didn't have a real good grasp on the international scope prior to Hilco, nor the proper management."
The turn to big business has stirred some grousing from die-hard fans in Internet chat rooms, who say it goes against the grain of a singer who preached nonmaterialism and popularized the Rastafarian credo of oneness with nature and marijuana consumption as a sacrament. But it is doubtful that this crew will be vocal for long, after all, they need to go to the store soon to get cookie dough.
Lorna Wainwright, who manages a Kingston studio and music shop called Tuff Gong, Marley's nickname during his boyhood in a nearby slum, backed the move, saying "the world needs the Bob Marley police."
"It's a free-for-all out there with all the fakes, all the piracy," she said. "It's important to continue getting his real message out like when he was alive because the world is in a crisis and Bob Marley's lyrics provide a solution." Translation - pay the man.
Rather than focusing on street vendors, who hawk everything from Bob Marley T-shirts to beach towels, the partnership is creating a new line of products dubbed "House of Marley" and will police the trademark vigilantly.
"You're never going to stop the guys in the streets, flea markets ... but you try as much as you can," said Salter.
Snowboards and tropical Jamaica may seem an odd pairing, but they're among a wide variety of planned merchandise featuring the dreadlocked musician's image, name or message - backpacks, stationery, headphones, musical instruments, restaurants. What no, err, pipes?
Items are expected to hit the market in mid-2010.
The Trademark Company
Heirs of the Jamaican reggae legend are plunging into the global trademark wars, seeking to enforce their exclusive rights to an image that has grown steadily in scope and appeal since the Jamaican superstar died of brain cancer in 1981 at age 36.
The Marley name, look and sound are estimated to generate an estimated $600 million a year in sales of unlicensed wares. Legal sales are much smaller - just $4 million for his descendants in 2007, according to Forbes magazine. The Marleys refuse to give a figure.
Now the family has hired Toronto-based Hilco Consumer Capital to protect their rights to the brand. Hilco CEO Jamie Salter believes Marley products could be a $1 billion business in a few years.
"The family managed all the rights before Hilco was brought on board," said Marley's fourth son, Rohan - a former linebacker for the University of Miami. "We didn't have a real good grasp on the international scope prior to Hilco, nor the proper management."
The turn to big business has stirred some grousing from die-hard fans in Internet chat rooms, who say it goes against the grain of a singer who preached nonmaterialism and popularized the Rastafarian credo of oneness with nature and marijuana consumption as a sacrament. But it is doubtful that this crew will be vocal for long, after all, they need to go to the store soon to get cookie dough.
Lorna Wainwright, who manages a Kingston studio and music shop called Tuff Gong, Marley's nickname during his boyhood in a nearby slum, backed the move, saying "the world needs the Bob Marley police."
"It's a free-for-all out there with all the fakes, all the piracy," she said. "It's important to continue getting his real message out like when he was alive because the world is in a crisis and Bob Marley's lyrics provide a solution." Translation - pay the man.
Rather than focusing on street vendors, who hawk everything from Bob Marley T-shirts to beach towels, the partnership is creating a new line of products dubbed "House of Marley" and will police the trademark vigilantly.
"You're never going to stop the guys in the streets, flea markets ... but you try as much as you can," said Salter.
Snowboards and tropical Jamaica may seem an odd pairing, but they're among a wide variety of planned merchandise featuring the dreadlocked musician's image, name or message - backpacks, stationery, headphones, musical instruments, restaurants. What no, err, pipes?
Items are expected to hit the market in mid-2010.
The Trademark Company
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