Past few months I’ve read where athletes, celebrities, musicians, and companies are suing individuals and companies due to copyright and trademark infringement.
What is trademark infringement?
From the United States Patent and Trademark Office “trademark infringement is the unauthorized use of a trademark or service mark on or in connection with goods and/or services in a manner that is likely to cause confusion, deception, or mistake about the source of the goods and/or services.” Continuing “If the proposed mark is similar enough to the earlier mark to risk confusing the average consumer, its use may constitute infringement if the services or goods on which the two marks are used are related to each other—that is, they share the same market.”
Pretty much if it’s confusing to the simple person it could be considered trademark infringement. This includes color schemes, font, store design (inside and out), slogan, character use, etc.
OK so you think there’s a possible infringement. Now what? These are some of the factors that are employed by the court.
- Similarity between the marks that will cause confusion
- How the good/service is advertised, marketed, and sold
- The defendant’s intent in adopting the original mark
- Strength of plaintiff’s mark
If you or your company believe your facing some possible infringement then hit up a trademark lawyer. Here’s some interesting trademark infringement cases.
Run-DMC Chasing the Paper
Run-DMC sues Wal-Mart, Amazon, and Jet for $50 million for “advertising, selling, manufacturing, promoting, and distributing multiple products” in the group’s name. The claim states that products ranged from hats, shirts, wallets, glasses, and such. Run-DMC claims the retailers improperly profited and harmed their brand. Read more at Run-DMC Sues Wal-Mart, Amazon, and Others for Trademark Infringement.
PayPal vs. Paytm concerning their logo.
PayPal filed a complaint against Paytm for their use of similar colors in the logo. The claim says they adopted the two-tone blue color scheme. It’s pretty exact but has different font….but the way Paytm uses the blue is very, very similar to PayPal. Read more here PayPal sues for Logo Color Use.
Energizer vs. Rayovac
This one here involved packaging. Energizer sued Rayovac about their package design being eerily similar to Energizer. “Battery packages mimic the coloring and designs it uses for its batteries, infringing on its trademarks.” Read more for more juicy stuff. Energizer Keeps Going to Stop Trademark Infringements.
Also, Energizer sued Duracell for the use of the pink bunny. Duracell can’t use their bunny inside the United States. Pretty interesting. Battle of the Pink Bunnies.
Exxon wins in China
Here’s one about Exxon winning in China concerning a trademark. Little dry but interesting. Exxon in China.
Michael Jordan Nails it in China
An example of an individual suing a company. Michael Jordan in known as Qiaodan in China and there’s a company using his brand named Qiaodan Sports Co. The Chinese court “approved Jordan’s appeal that the trademark of his name’s translation in Chinse characters infringed on his right to own his name and violated the country’s trademark law.” Also reported that the company used his number, logo, and…..the names of his children. Wow. Worth the read: Michael Jordan and Qiaodan.
Don’t Use My Image Chipotle
And here’s one where Chipotle used a lady’s image for their marketing material. She didn’t sign anything and verbally refused. Well, looks like nobody listened until now. Suing for $2 billion which is silly, but she’ll get something. Chipotle – $2 Billion Mistake?
More information can be found at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Along with this handy thing from Nolo. How to Determine Trademark Infringing.
And don’t forget this good article from Entrepreneur about trademarks. How to Avoid Trademark Infringement.
