Like many other companies, electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors is looking to expand into China. It may have to put its plans on hold though due to trademark registration problems. In 2009, an opportunistic Chinese businessman, Zhan Baosheng, filed a trademark application with the Chinese trademark office covering the mark TESLA in 12 different classes, including cars and auto parts. The trademark application was ultimately granted giving Baosheng a trademark registration for the mark TESLA. So when Tesla filed its Chinese trademark application, the application was rejected, with the Chinese trademark office citing Baosheng’s earlier trademark registration. So, for the time being, Tesla has no legal right to commercially use its TESLA mark in China, which is a big problem for the car company looking to take advantage of the exploding Chinese demand for automobiles.
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The latest installment of the Batman movie franchise was a big hit with fans. It told the story of Batman attempting to thwart Bane’s plot to send Gotham City into chaos. One of the subplots of the movie was Catwoman’s effort to obtain the “Clean Slate” software to help her erase her criminal history. It turns out that this fictional software written into the movie is not so fictional and the company behind the actual Clean Slate software believed that Warner Bros. infringed on their registered trademark by using the name in the movie. This prompted the company to file a trademark infringement lawsuit against Warner Bros. But as most who go up against Batman discover, he usually comes out on top.
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The first step to protect your brand is to obtain trademark protection by registering a trademark, but this is just the first step of an ongoing process. After acquiring a trademark registration, you must enforce it or risk infringers diluting your brand equity or unjustly profiting from it. The United States Patent and Trademark Office will not