Other manufacturers and distributors may use a brand name. If another manufacturer uses your brand name, there is no penalty, because it is not protected by law and therefore anyone can use it. This article was written by Shraddha Jain, a law student at the Department of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad. This article attempts to distinguish between the concept of brand and brand. The use of a trademark prevents others from using the products or services of a company or person without their permission. They also prohibit all trademarks that present a likelihood of confusion with an existing trademark. This means that a company cannot use a symbol or brand name if it looks or sounds similar, or if it has a similar meaning to what is already in books, especially if the goods or services are related. For example, a soft drink company can`t legally use a symbol that looks like Coca-Cola, and it can`t use a name that sounds like Coca-Cola. Some courts have recognized a slightly different but closely related fair dealing defence, called nominative.
Nominative usage occurs when the use of a term is necessary to identify another manufacturer`s product, and not the user`s own product. For example, USA Today recently conducted a phone poll urging its readers to vote for their favorite member of the music group New Kids on the Block. The New Kids on the Block sued USA Today for trademark infringement. The court held that the use of the trademark “New Kids on the Block” was a preferred nominative use because: (1) the group was not readily identifiable without the use of the trademark; (2) USA Today used only the amount of the mark reasonably necessary to identify it; and (3) there was no indication that the Group endorsed or sponsored it. The basic idea is that the use of a trademark is sometimes necessary to identify and talk about the goods and services of another party. If the above conditions are met, this use will be preferred. New Kids on the Block v. News America Publishing, Inc., 971 F.2d 302 (9th Cir.
1992). Within five years of registering a trademark in the OTP, any person who believes that they will be harmed or aggrieved by the registration may file an application to have the registration expunged. See, for example: 15 U.S.C. § 1064; 37 C.F.R. §§ 111 – 114. Unregistered trademarks may also be protected at the state level by statute and/or common law. Under state common law, trademarks are protected under unfair competition law. State laws vary, but most states have adopted either a version of the draft Model Trademark Law (MTB) that requires trademark registration or the Uniform Misleading Commercial Practices Act (UDTPA), which does not.
Copyright, on the other hand, offers protection to intellectual property owners to legally copy it. Copyright owners and those with authority may reproduce the associated work for a period of time solely for profit – usually up to 70 years after their death. Software, art, film, music and drawings are just a few examples of copyrighted works. However, brand names, slogans and logos are not registered. In order to obtain copyright and prevent copyright infringement, the applicant must file an application with the U.S. Copyright Office. A copyright is the legal protection granted to creators of artistic, literary and scientific works. Trademarks must protect their copyrights, even if they do not create works of art, books or scientific reports.
Counterfeiters copy authentic photos of a product and use them to promote and legitimize their own lists of illegal products online. A brand is associated with packaging, a logo and a combination of colors. It protects the company`s brand by preventing competitors from using the same trademark, which can mislead the customer. Trademarks may only be used by the owner or manufacturer who owns a legally registered trademark. However, as long as your services and products are different from other trademarks, you can use them or even register them. Established and respected companies that rely on the strength of their brands to sell product lines. Branding companies rely on years of painstaking work to build brand awareness, reputation, and style to make their products popular, respected, and recognizable. Companies must remain vigilant against any type of brand abuse they may target. However, the most common and annoying for brands is counterfeiting. However, three main types of businesses are particularly likely to be targeted by counterfeiters: product innovators, branding firms, and design-oriented firms.
This task of creating a brand name must be completed before introducing your products or establishing your brand in the market. In addition, the intermediate mark can be used under brand names to convey the great benefits and quality of products and services. Although registration with the OTP is not necessary to protect a trademark, registration offers a number of benefits to the owner. 15 U.S.C. § 1051. As described above, registration gives a party the right to use the mark nationally, subject to the above restrictions. 15 U.S.C. § 1072. Registration constitutes constructive notice at the national level to others that the mark is the property of the party. Registration allows a party to bring an infringement action in federal court. 15 U.S.C. § 1121.
Registration allows a party to potentially receive triple damages, attorneys` fees, and other remedies. Finally, trademarks can become “indisputable” after five years, after which the exclusive right to use the trademark is definitively established. 15 U.S.C. § 1065. Between the two ends of the spectrum are many narrow cases where the courts will apply the factors listed above. For example, if the brands are similar and the products are also similar, it will be difficult to determine whether consumers are likely to be confused. In one case, the owners of the “Slickcraft” trademark used the mark in connection with the sale of boats used for family recreation in general. They brought an action for failure to fulfil obligations against an undertaking which used the trade mark `Sleekcraft` in connection with the sale of high-speed boats. Since the two types of vessels served significantly different markets, the tribunal concluded that the products were related but not identical.
However, after considering many of the factors listed above, the court concluded that the use of Sleekcraft could confuse consumers. AMF Inc. v. Sleekcraft Boats, 599 F.2d 341 (9th Cir. 1979). All trademarks are trademarks. Registering a trademark protects the day-to-day operations of a business. The scope of protection is quite broad, as it applies to both identical and similar marks. Whenever you talk about a trademark, you can be sure that it legally represents your products and services.
There is a legal obligation associated with the trademark. `A trade mark or trade name, whether registered or not, is a name or trade mark, such as a symbol, logo, label, signature or a word or font created, used in relation to particular goods to establish a correlation in the context of a transaction between those particular goods and a person using such a name or sign, with or without reference to that particular personality: to be designated or displayed. Trade marks are protected by the Trade Marks Act 1999.