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.
Continue reading “Tesla Trademark Registration Shake Down in China”
Apple Inc.’s trademark attorneys must be working overtime. In the last few months we’ve seen Apple involved in trademark issues in China, Brazil, Mexico and now at home in the United States. The most recent issue stems from Apple’s 
We recently 
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 
Tim Tebow is many things. He is an athlete, an advocate, a Heisman trophy winner, and now it looks like he will be a trademark registration owner. A trademark application for the term “Tebowingg” recently survived the 30 day opposition period provided after a trademark publishes. The trademark application should proceed to registration, which will entitle XV Enterprises, a company solely owned by Tim Tebow, to the exclusive rights to use the mark “Tebowing” in commerce in connection with the sale of hats, shirts, and t-shirts.
If you are successfully able to register your United States federal trademark, you have navigated the trickiest part of the trademark process. However, you are not completely out of the woods. Simply because you register a trademark does not mean that it will remain valid and enforceable forever. For your 
You are probably familiar with two small symbols commonly displayed after the use of a U.S. trademark, the ® and the ™ symbols. But you may wonder what the difference between them is. These two symbols indicate that the owner of a mark is asserting trademark rights in connection with the mark. These “trademark” symbols are intended as notice or a warning to third parties regarding the type of rights that accompany a mark.
Boise State recently licensed its blue field design to Hosei University near Tokyo, Japan. See article 
Your business plan is set. You’ve thought long and hard about what your business name should be. Now you’re ready to trademark your business name. You begin your