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.

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.

Federal registration is not required to establish rights in a trademark. Common law rights arise from actual use of a mark. Generally, the first to either use a mark in commerce or file an intent to use application with the Patent and Trademark Office has the ultimate right to use and registration. However, there are many benefits of federal trademark registration.

Yes. A federal trademark establishes a presumption of ownership in a court of law. Owners of common law trademarks have to prove they use and own the trademark - sometimes on a county-by-county basis. This can be expensive and time consuming to prove in court. Financially, the only one who benefits would be the lawyers.

Answer: Not all identifying names and phrases can be protected by trademarks. Protection depends on a mark's strength, which is determined by how it is categorized. There are four categories (in descending order of strength): arbitrary mark receives the most protection since the name bears no relationship to the product -- it implies imagination and thought. Kodak is an example of an arbitrary mark because the name itself suggests no connection to film or camera equipment.

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.

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."

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.

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.

Yup, it seems that almost everywhere in the world riding your bicycle naked is illegal — but still we do it !!! Picture at left is from a past Artists for Peace Nekked bike ride in Vancouver, BC. Click on image for larger view. Most of the nekkid rides that we have done in Vancouver, have been, well pretty much Nekkkidd, but Vancouver is a lot more tolerant than say Beijing or Riyadh. Alanis Morissette attacks "U.S.

Yes. A common law search involves searching records other than the federal register and pending application records. It may involve checking phone directories, yellow pages, industrial directories, state trademark registers, among others, in an effort to determine if a particular mark is used by others when they have not filed for a federal trademark registration. A common law search is not necessary but some find it beneficial.

of July 28, 2000, a person who was living with the deceased at the time of death and was cohabiting with the deceased in a marriage-like relationship, including a marriage-like relationship between persons of the same gender, has the same right to make funeral arrangements as a legally married spouse. There is no specified period of cohabitation required.

Answer: In the US, trademark rights come from actual use of the mark to label one's services or products or they come from filing an application with the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) that states an intention to use the mark in future commerce. In most foreign countries, trademarks are valid only upon registration. The person who establishes priority rights in a mark gains the exclusive right to use it to label or identify their goods or services, and to authorize others to do so.

Answer: Not in the United States. Here, you do not need to register a mark to establish rights to it, though registration provides important advantages. Registering a mark means that the registrant is presumed to be the owner of the mark for goods and services specified in the application. This makes proving your rights easier in court. However, US federal law also provides rights to unregistered (“common law”) marks if they are actually used in commerce.

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.

There is no obligation of support between partners in Quebec that arises from a non-marital relationship. I do not believe that the Quebec courts have jurisdiction to deal with your friend's case because neither of the parties lives or has lived in Quebec - they just married here. What I believe they should do is apply in Israel to have the marriage annulled. Get an opinion from an israeli lawyer on this.

Trademark rights are not acquired through the registration process. Common law ownership rights are acquired through actual use of the mark in commerce. Generally, the first person to use a trademark is the first person to acquire rights to the mark.

Answer: You may actually have trademark rights superior to those of your accuser. You may have such trademark rights because b) you have a pending "intent to use" trademark application, of which the filing date predates the use of the mark by your accuser; c) you have a pending "use based" trademark application and your date of first use predates the first use of the mark by your accuser; or In the U.S., the person who establishes priority in a mark gains the ultimate right to use it.

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).

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.

Mere use of a trademark in interstate commerce is enough to create a common law trademark if the trademark is distinctive and has created a "secondary meaning." Common law trademarks should used with either the TM or SM symbol to notify the world of the owner's intent to protect his or her trademark rights in a particular mark.

A trademark owner has the right to use exclusively, or to license the name or likeness of his character to avoid customer confusion and to prevent others from profiting off of the owner's intellectual property. For example, you can't market "Star Wars ray guns", because LucasFilm owns the right to that name, and customers may be confused into thinking that your ray gun is sponsored or produced by LucasFilm.

To own a trademark in the United States all you need to do is be the first to use it in trade and make continuous use of the mark thereafter. In addition, you need to make proper use of it (1) to use it in interstate commerce, and (2) in a way that permits consumers to distinguish your particular goods and services from those of another producer.

The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/214) states that common law marriages contracted in Illinois after June 30, 1905 are invalid. A common law marriage was traditionally when a man and a woman lived together and held themselves out to the world as husband and wife for a certain period of time (such as seven or 14 years), and the law of the state in which they resided recognized them as husband and wife despite the lack of the formal legalities of marriage.

Contrary to popular belief, the term "common law marriage" has no real meaning in law in British Columbia. This is a term used primarily by the public to describe what they perceive to be a serious and ongoing relationship between two people, usually of the opposite sex. If parties are married, they can apply for spousal maintenance under either the Divorce Act, or Family Relations Act simply because they are married and are deemed to be spouses under these acts.