Search 5,000,000+ questions and answers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What is the bare minimum of trademark law that I have to understand to decipher this C&D?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
Answer: Your opponent should say that your mark is causing consumer confusion or is likely to cause consumer confusion. Or it should mention it's famousness and complain of dilution or tarnishment. (If the C&D does not say this, then no trademark claim may actually exist, and you can rest assured that your opponent is engaging in scare tactics or has hired a highly incompetent attorney).
Related Questions

Question: Where can I find federal trademark law?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
Answer: To be protected by federal trademark law, the marked goods and services must be used in interstate commerce. Federal trademark law is known as the Lanham Act. It protects marks that are registered with the United States Patent & Trademark Office as well as those that are in use but never registered. Court opinions and United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) regulations also interpret trademark rights and remedies.
Related Questions

Question: Where can I find state trademark law?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
Answer: Each state has its own laws governing use of trademarks within its borders. To locate the trademark laws of the 50 states, use the Legal Information Institute links. Both legislation and court opinions create trademark rights and remedies.
Related Questions

Question: What facts should a C&D include?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
Answer: Recitation of Facts. Read this section of the letter carefully. It should contain some or all of the following information: Answer: Do not be led astray by the registration numbers: trademark rights in the United States arise from use of the mark in commerce, not from registering. However, both state and federal law can provide relief from trademark infringement.
Related Questions

Question: What are "common law" rights in a trademark?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
Answer: Common law rights are those that are recognized by courts as a matter of traditional equitable principles and fairness, even when there is no statute or other law that has been enacted by the legislative branch of government to cover the situation. It also arises from the leeway that judges have in interpretating the language of the written laws when the meaning is not clear. Common law is often known as "judge-made" law.
Related Questions

Question: What are the basics of trademark law that could affect FanFic?

FAQ about Fan Fiction -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
Answer: Any word, name, symbol or device which is used (or intended to be used), to identify specific goods and to distinguish those goods from items sold by others and which indicates the source of the goods is eligible for trademark protection. A fan fiction author who writes a new action novel involving Star Wars characters with "Star Wars" in the title could be liable for trademark violation since "Star Wars" is a mark owned and registered by LucasFilm Ltd.
Related Questions

What is the bare minimum I can start with?

Frequently Asked Questions
You could start with one computer and two (or more) modems, creating the world's smallest ISP. A fun hobby, but as a business it is a dead end. To operate an ISP with any profit requires at least 48 analogue lines and at least 350 subscribers, operated by one person. With more than one person or higher-cost digital lines the revenue needs naturally increase.
Related Questions

Question: What does Trademark law protect?

Jean Sifleet's E-news Archives - Advice for Small Business O...
Trademark protection may be available for any word, phrase, name, symbol, sound (called “the mark”) that identifies or distinguishes your product or service from those made or sold by others. It includes the exclusive right to use the mark in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the registration.
Related Questions

Question: What is this laundry list of things the C&D says will happen if I don't obey?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
Answer: Your opponent may describe a parade of horribles to demonstrate with exquisite detail what it will do to you unless you capitulate. This list generally includes, but is not limited to: Though these things sound awful, they are not medieval tortures (although that may be a function of the fact that Torquemada never thought of them). Ceasing use of the mark is self-explanatory: your opponent wants you to stop using the mark.
Related Questions

What is the bare minimum I need to get it to run?

DiCoP FAQ
You also need at least one client. For testing purposes this can also run on the same machine as the server. No. The reason is that the clients are quite stable, e.g. their version does not often change. It is, however, possible to configure the server so that it requires a certain minimum client version. Any client that has a lower version number will be refused by the server, and the client in question will terminate.
Related Questions

Question: How can I find out if someone has a valid trademark?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
Answer: It isn't easy. In the United States, a trademark owner isn't required to register the mark anywhere, so there is no single central list of them all. Unlike most other nations, registration here is optional. Many owners do register their marks with the government, however, to better notify the world of their claims. Each state has its own trademark registry for goods and services sold locally.
Related Questions

Question: How do I register a trademark?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
file an intent to use application, which states that you honestly intend to use the mark in commerce. The mark must be associated with commerce, instead of simply being a mark that you want to reserve. Merely using the mark in advertising or promotion does not qualify under this category -- the use must be associated with an actual commercial purpose, or non-US applicants only) file based on an existing foreign registration. All applications require a fee.
Related Questions

Question: What is trademark tarnishment?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
Answer: Trademark "tarnishment," a kind of dilution, can occur if a non-owner uses the mark in connection with shoddy or unsavory products or services, illegal activity, or activity that is likely to offend the average person. For example, using a Walt Disney trademark on a website filled with pornography could be claimed to tarnish the reputation of the Disney mark in the minds of viewers who saw this material. Tarnishment is not always actionable -- it might be non-commercial or parody use.
Related Questions

Question: What is trademark misuse?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
Answer: Trademark Misuse is a largely theoretical argument about how a trademark holder can use its rights. It would be similar to the defenses brought in copyright and patent cases, which dictate that if the owner of the intellectual property rights (e.g. a patent or copyright) over-exerts its rights (e.g forces someone to buy an unrelated product to gain acess to the protected work), then the copyright or patent holder loses its right to sue for infringement.
Related Questions

What is protectable under trademark law?

Florida Intellectual Property (IP) Law Firm - FAQs
A trademark is anything that indicates source, sponsorship, affiliation, or other relation of a product or service to a business. The specific identity of the business does not need to be known.
Related Questions

How expensive can a trademark law conflict become?

Trademark Protection International FAQ: Register name as a T...
The costs of a trademark rights dissuasion depend on the legal costs stemming from the dissuasion. In this connection the legal costs depend on the infringed trademark, not as frequently accepted, on the nature of the trademark infringement, for example - on an internet domain. So the legal costs with respect to an unused trademark is seldom fixed at under 25,000 Euro. If the trademark is being used, then at least 50,000 Euro is the rule.
Related Questions

What is a trademark?

Trademark FAQ's
A trademark may be a word, symbol, logo, slogan, or any combination thereof that is used to identify and distinguish one person’s goods or services from the goods or services of another, and serves as an indicator of source of the goods or services. A consumer encountering a trademark identifies products bearing the same mark to be sold by, or produced by, the same producer, even if the name of that producer is unknown to the consumer.
Related Questions

First Stop Business Center - Frequently Asked Questions
A trademark is any word, name, symbol, device or combination thereof adopted and used by a person or entity to identify goods made or sold and to distinguish them from the goods made or sold by another person. If products or goods are sold, think "trademark." (O.C.G.A 10-1-440) Examples of trademarks are: Coca-Cola (soft drink beverage), Microsoft (computer software) and USA Today (newspaper/publication).
Related Questions

Question: Where can I find federal trademark registrations?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
Answer: The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) keeps the US federal registry of trademarks. It has an online search capability, TESS, which contains more than 3 million pending, registered and dead federal trademarks. This database may not be complete. One should check the News page to see how current the information actually is. Be aware: not all trademarks are contained in the US federal register.
Related Questions

Question: What are the limits of trademark rights?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
The term is a way to describe another good or service, using its descriptive term and not its secondary meaning. The idea behind this fair use is that a trademark holder does not have the exclusive right to use a word that is merely descriptive, since this decreases the words available to describe.
Related Questions

Question: How long do trademark rights last?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
Answer: Trademark rights can last indefinitely if the trademark owner continues to use the mark to identify goods or services. According to the PTO website, "The term of a federal trademark registration is 10 years, with 10-year renewal terms. However, between the fifth and sixth year after the date of initial registration, the registrant must file an affidavit setting forth certain information to keep the registration alive. If no affidavit is filed, the registration is canceled."
Related Questions

Question: What is contributory trademark infringement?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
Answer: Even if you are not using someone’s mark directly in a product or service you sell, your opponent may say you have liability under the theory of “contributory trademark infringement.” This liability may exist if you knowingly allow someone else to violate another party’s trademark rights and personally gain from such violation. It may also exist if you intentionally encourage another person to violate a trademark.
Related Questions

Question: What is the difference between copyright and trademark?

FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
Answer: Copyright protects original expression in literary and artistic works such as plays, books, films, songs, software, performances, etc.). To qualify for copyright protection, a work must be an original creation of the author and not copied from any other source. In the U.S., copyright does not protect facts. Individual words cannot be copyrighted, and there is a gray area of protection for short phrases.
Related Questions

Question: What is a trademark?

FAQ about Protest, Parody and Criticism Sites -- Chilling Ef...
Answer: A trademark is a "mark" (word, phrase, symbol, design, mark, device, or combination thereof) used to identify the source of a product. Trademarks allow consumers to evaluate products before purchase.
Related Questions

What is a "C&D Letter"?

Go Simpsonic! : Private Wedding, Please Browse Elsewhere
C&D is short for Cease and Desist. Letters were e-mailed to Simpsons sites around the globe telling the sites to remove all media that FOX owned the rights to. Also all fan sites are now required to have disclaimers. A creative friend of mine called them "Choke & Die Orders", that about sums it up.
Related Questions

I cannot find or understand the answer to my question in the above list. What do I do?

RSMeans Construction Bookstore
One major benefit that comes with using RSMeans' products is that you have access to the originating engineer. If your question is not included in the above list or you need further discussion or you want to know if we have further background information you can call 781-585-7880 and ask for engineering.
Related Questions

Q1. What is considered as a trademark under the trademark law of HKSAR?

Kaizen - Frequently asked questions concerning Trademark Reg...
A1. A trademark is a mark that is used to promote and identify the owner's goods or services and to enable the public to distinguish them from the goods or services of other traders. It may be a logo or device, name, signature, word, letter, numeral, smell, figurative elements or combination of colors and includes any combination of such signs and 3-dimensional shapes provided that it must be represented in a form which can be recorded and published, such as by way of drawing or description.
Related Questions

Frequently Asked Questions: Trademark Law Q: What is a trademark or service mark?

Cook & Cook | FAQ: Patent
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product.
Related Questions

What is a common law trademark? Do I have to register my trademark to have rights?

Polster, Lieder, Woodruff & Lucchesi, L.C.- Frequently A...
A common law trademark is a trademark that someone has begun using on a product or with a service without registering it. Common law rights in the trademark arise through use of the mark. Common law rights are limited to the places where the product or service bearing the mark has become known, generally, where it has actually been marketed.
Related Questions

What is "bare off" ?

How To Play Backgammon Online ??" www.playdouble.com ??" Bac...
When you have moved all of your checkers into your home table, you may begin "bearing off", or moving them off the board. To bear off a checker, click on it. A page will load showing an outline around its point. Then click on the trough in the lower right corner of the board. If possible, you must bear off according to the exact numbers rolled on the dice.
Related Questions

Got A Question? Ask Our Community!


More Questions >>

© Copyright 2007-2008 QueryCAT
About • Webmasters • Contact