Selecting and Protecting Your Trademarks

If you own a business, you already know how hard you worked to get your business’ name out there. Time, money, energy, and work all went into the general public knowing your name. But what if you did all of that, only to later find out your business’ name isn’t really yours and you have to stop using it?

That’s exactly what can happen if you make a mistake with trademark laws, when starting a business, forming an entity, or even starting a business venture or campaign. Picking a name that is already owned or trademarked by someone else can cost you not only money, but could even cost you your business.

The WWF/WWE Trademark Dispute

Think this doesn’t happen? It does. One of the most notable instances was in 2002, when wrestling organization the Worldwide Wrestling Federation, or WWF, ran afoul of trademark laws because the World Wildlife Federation was already using WWF, hence, the WWF’s rebranding to the WWE. The WWE was able to absorb the costs of rebranding, but your business may not.

Do a Search and Register

The most obvious piece of advice when choosing a name to trademark, is to do a trademark search. But the search itself isn’t always definitive because often, two companies can share the same trademark, so long as they are so separate that the public would not confuse the two. Still, you need to be wary of others who may own trademarks you want to use.

And it should go without saying that you must register your trademark. However, a lot of people are simply unaware of this—they figure if they grow their business, and people recognize their business’ name, that they will have a trademark. That’s not true—trademarks are not automatic and must be applied for through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Don’t Be Generic

Even if nobody owns the trademarked name you want to use, you also need to ensure that the name you use isn’t so generic that it cannot be protected.

For example, you couldn’t trademark the name “Table,” or “Stop Doing That,” or some other phrase or word that is so generic that it cannot be trademarked. That’s not to say that it’s impossible to trademark a generic phrase, it just makes it a lot harder, and you could be buying yourself a long legal fight to trademark your name or phrase.

Protecting Your Trademark

If you are a smaller or midsized business, you may not want to be calling lawyers, and taking people to court, who are using your trademark—especially if those potential infringers are not seen as a threat to your business.

But the more people who use or misuse your trademark, the weaker your protection is, and it could even become generic. That’s why you should have systems in place that monitor the use of your trademark. Many companies will do this for you, and to some extent, you can do it yourself, with simply online searches.

Don’t make intellectual property mistakes with your business. Call the West Palm Beach commercial litigation attorneys at Pike & Lustig for help.

Sources:

justia.com/intellectual-property/trademarks/strength-of-marks/generic-terms/

uspto.gov/trademarks/search/likelihood-confusion

forbes.com/sites/davidbixenspan/2020/02/17/wwe-wwf-name-change-true-story-ruthless-aggression-wwe-network-documentary/