Trademark Law: Cashing in on Hobbits – Fair Game or Foul Play?

trademark lawThe hugely successful movie franchise, The Lord of the Rings, picks up again when director Peter Jackson releases The Hobbit on December 14th, 2012.  The profitability of the movies and all things related to Middle Earth are not lost on others looking to ride the momentum created by the new release.  Global Asylum is a movie production company that specializes in “mockbusters”, low-budget movies that have similar titles and storylines to blockbuster movies and are released around the same time. This time around, Global Asylum intends to cash in on The Hobbit frenzy by releasing a film entitled Age of the Hobbits, three days before the release of the Jackson film (see story). So what’s the deal with these mockbusters? Is this fair game or foul play? Trademark law may be the deciding voice.

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Jay-Z And Beyoncé Attempt to Trademark A Name For Their Daughter

trademark a nameShortly after singer Beyoncé gave birth to daughter Blue Ivy Carter in January, the new mother and father, rapper Jay-Z, did something most parents never do.  They filed a trademark application on the name of their child.  When the parents are two of the most successful musicians on the planet, it seems that even the birth of their first child doesn’t slow down business.  It may seem like a smart thing to do, because other people might try to beat them to the trademark office to potentially use the mark as leverage.  For example, third parties might try to use the mark in ways that negatively affect their brand or try to sell the mark to them at an exorbitant price.  News reports have come out suggesting that they have lost their battle over the trademark. (Click here to see Rolling Stone article.) While it’s true that Beyoncé and Jay-Z will not have have exclusive rights to use the term Blue Ivy, they haven’t lost their rights all together.  The couple’s trademark application is still pending before the US Patent and Trademark Office and recently published for opposition.  (Click here to see Notice of Publication from the USPTO.) So long as there is no one with senior rights to the same mark for the same or similar goods, their trademark registration application should survive the opposition period.

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Tips On Doing A Successful Trademark Name Search

trademark name searchYour business name is your identity. Attached to that is your reputation and good will. If you let your competitors to connect their business to your name, then you might as well close shop. Protect your business from free riders by registering your trademarks. The first step involves a trademark name search so that you yourself will not be using an already existing mark.

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File Trademark Application Paperwork To Give Your Business An Identity

file trademarkIf you write a book, you own the copyright to the book and this protects you from the theft of your intellectual property. If you invent something, you get a patent and this serves as protection in case somebody wants to steal your invention. The same thing applies to the trademark to some extent. In simple terms, a trademark can be described as a unique distinguishing feature of a company or a business. The trademark protects the business owner the same way the copyright protects the writer. This means that if you file trademark papers you will be protecting your business logo and your brand from creative theft.

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Benefits Of Getting A Trademark Registered

getting a trademarkEveryone knows the importance of branding and image in business. You stay ahead of your competitors if your clients recognize your logo or your name even just from a single short glimpse. This is why it is important you do not share your trademark idea with others. By getting a trademark registered, you effectively and legally claim a right of ownership over such and prevent your competitors or any other business from taking advantage of your popularity.

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A Step By Step Guide On How To Get A Trademark

how to get a trademarkIf you have a product or name that is unique for your business, it is important to get a trademark to protect that special name or product. Chances are, you have worked very hard to think up a unique product, and it is important to establish a presence in the market world. Typically, trademarked products or names attract more customers than those without trademarks because customers know the trademark means quality.

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Trademark Genericism: Will Apple’s “App Store

trademark registrationComputer technology and the internet move at lightening pace. A few years ago, the word app did not even exist. Now it has become commonplace and we hear about apps all the time. In 2008, Apple tried to get out in front of the curve and register a trademark for the term “App Store”, exclusively reserving the term for their use. Since that time, the term “app” has become increasingly popular.

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Doing a Thorough Trademark Search: Microsoft Learns the Hard Way

trademark searchMicrosoft recently made an about-face with their planned name “Metro” for the user interface of their upcoming Windows 8 operating system. The Metro moniker had been used in many public settings, such as third-party developer tools and blog posts for some time, but now just weeks before launch, Metro has been replaced with the much less catchy title “Windows 8-Style UI.” It appears that the impetus for the change is the threat of a trademark infringement suit from the German retail chain Metro AG. Apparently someone in Microsoft’s legal department did not do their due diligence when it came to the trademark search for Metro.

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Under Armour Apparel vs. Body Armor Beverage: Trademark Infringement and the Similarity of Goods Analysis

trademark infringementThe previous Trademark Access blog post discussed a trademark infringement suit between two baseball glove manufacturers.  Rawlings Sporting Goods sponsors the “Rawlings Gold Glove Award” baseball glove manufacturers. Rawlings Sporting Goods sponsors the “Rawlings Gold Glove Award” and owns a US trademark registration for that phrase. Rawlings brought suit against Wilson Sporting Goods claiming that Wilson was creating confusion in the marketplace by outfitting a professional baseball player with a gold glove and thereby infringing on Rawlings’s trademark. In a trademark infringement case like this one, one of the major factors that a court would look at is how similar the goods associated with the marks are to each other. If the goods are unrelated, it is less likely there will be any confusion about the source of goods and less likely there will be infringement.

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