Trademark Screw-Ups of the Month

Hopefully we won’t be Banky McBankface’: Startup bank Mondo is changing its name and letting customers choose its new one: Another one bites the dust. Another startup does their own trademark search, invests in building a brand, only to be forced to change it as soon as the business becomes big enough for someone to notice.

Is Teva on its Way to Losing its Trademark?: That's what is usually called 'genericide', the death of a trademark by becoming generic.

This company ripped off a Native American tribe to sell beer. So the tribe fought back: Interestingly, there are no live registered U.S. trademarks for LUMBEE, LUMBEE TRIBE, or HERITAGE, PRIDE & STRENGTH. The only registered trademark for the logo of LUMBEE TRIBE OF NORTH CAROLINA was cancelled in April of 2016 for failure to file the required Post-Registration Statement of Use. So the question is really, should these marks be treated as unregistered trademarks owned by the Lumbee Tribe?

Toys-to-life game Fabulous Beasts renamed after Warner Bros. trademark dispute: In making a decision whether you'll run into problems with somewhat similar brands of others, a very important factor is, how much money does the other side have. Even if trademarks are not very similar, the risk of being forced to rebrand goes up substantially if the previously registered trademark is owned by a multi-billion-dollar company. As I've been saying for years, law is all about risk management. The bigger you get, the higher the risk that someone would go after you for even smaller infractions. Likewise, the more money can be thrown against you in a dispute, the more difficult it is to withstand pressure.

Wham-O Puts U.S Board Companies On Notice Over 30-Year-Old Trademark Laws: Misleading headline. It's not about a 30-year-old trademark laws, it's about asserting the rights in a trademark that was registered 30 years ago. Big difference! Apparently, Wham-O owns a trademark for color black applied to rails and pinlines for bodyboards.

Saab Automobile Officially Becomes NEVS After Company Fails To Secure Trademark: This raises a very important issue of making sure that the brand of a company going through a bankruptcy is preserved. I'm pretty sure that the company that invested to revive SAAB was hoping it would be able to use the name SAAB as part of what it paid for. Well, now they will need to create a brand new brand and somehow educate people that NEVS is just a next step for a car manufacturer formerly known as SAAB.

In N Out Burger has sued delivery startup DoorDash, alleging trademark infringement and “wrong designation of origin” – Escondido Technology Time: Usually, it's OK to use someone else's trademark if you are simply using it to name a product you bought and are now trying to sell—as long as you do not create an impression that you are an authorized dealer. For example, it is not an infringement of Apple's trademark rights for someone to sell a used iPhone on Craigslist. But it would be an infringement to set up an unauthorized store that only sells iPhones and to use the Apple logo to attract customers. Here the question is, does the food delivery company Door Dash that delivers from various food joints, including In-N-Out Burger, go beyond merely informing their customers about one of the locations they can deliver from and actually create an impression that such delivery is authorized by the burger joint itself? That's what the lawsuit is all about. 

Trademark dispute with Sky broadcasting sought name change for No Man’s Sky: How far does the trademark protection go for the brand SKY owned by the British telecom and broadcasting giant? Apparently not far enough to force Hello Games into renaming their game No Man's Sky. It only took three years of "secret stupid legal nonsense" to figure it out.

Aquazzura Files Trademark Suit Against Ivanka Trump Over "Exact Copy": As someone who really appreciates beautiful shoes, I have to admit, the two pairs side by side are virtually indistinguishable. Would be interesting to see the outcome of the battle.

Toronto Maple Leafs seek trademark challenge against Snoop Dogg pot logo: In theory, cigarette lighters are totally different from the products (clothing) and services (entertainment) that Toronto Maple Leafs trademarked, so anyone could trademark even a much more similar brand than that. The question here is, would TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS be regarded as a famous mark that should be grated broader protection. My prediction, LEAFS BY SNOOP should win the opposition proceedings if it ever gets there.

Mondo name change attracts 12,000+ entries after trademark dispute: Again, the point is not HOW you come up with the name for your brand (whether you do it yourself, use an agency, or crowdsource it). What matters is, are you going to do a proper thorough comprehensive trademark search to make sure the name (or a similar name) has not yet been taken?