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The Tabberone™ Archives These articles concern what we consider major trademark and copyright issues. They are usually reproduced with the original source referenced. Bear in mind, these articles are copyrighted and commercial use without permission of the authors may be considered infringement. The intended use here is educational, commentary and non-commercial. The reason they are reproduced in the Tabberone™ Archives, as opposed to just providing a link, is because links disappear and pages are removed. That presents a messy confirmation process that is annoying to the browser (you) but also presents a credibility issue. We do not claim any rights in these pieces. Do not regard the absence of a copyright statement or © to mean the article is not copyrighted. Some sites do not have a copyright statement. When an article or a comment is posted on the internet by the copyright owner, the owner is seeking a world-wide, 24/7 audience; sometimes for a limited amount of time, sometimes indefinitely. In essence, an internet posting intentionally relinquishes one's copyright for exclusivity because the owner has posted it on the internet to been seen by everyone, everywhere. The Tabberone™ Archives non-commercial duplication of the posting is simply a continuance of the original wishes of the copyright owner. We post these articles for reference, for commentary and for confirmarion of our position. |
Source: http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2008/05/purina-wont-giv.html May 8, 2008 - links have been removed but have been noted |
Purina Marks Its Territory Pet food giant Purina is like a dog that won't give up its bone -- or in this case, its chow. Three years ago, Purina sent a cease-and-desist letter to Chow, Baby! <http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/features/mutts/blog/2008/05/ciao_chow_baby.html>, a Baltimore area pet supply shop and Web site owned by Robin McDonald, asserting that its use of the "Chow, Baby!" name was likely to cause confusion with Purina's CHOW trademarks and would dilute the distinctive quality of those marks. McDonald's lawyer advised her that it would cost thousands of dollars to fight for the name and that she might lose anyway. As a result, McDonald took down the Web site. But she retained the name, Chow, Baby! for her local store, figuring that Purina wouldn't find out about it.Now, McDonald is ready to re-launch an Internet presence. But this time, McDonald decided to steer clear of a dogfight with Purina, and instead, changed her company's name to "Howl, Baby," subsequently shortened to Howl. Would it really have cost McDonald "thousands of dollars" to tussle with Purina, or was her lawyer barking up the wrong tree when he dispensed that advice? Seems to me that the term "chow" is fairly generic. According to the dictionary, "chow" is defined as food, a meaning that dates back to 1860. So I don't see any paws-ability to Purina's claim. Moreover, if McDonald had ignited an Internet campaign to e-shame Purina, as some of these recipients of cease-and-desist letters <http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2008/01/are-cease-and-d.html> have done, I'm certain that Purina would have retreated like a dog with its tail between its legs. Posted by Carolyn Elefant on May 2, 2008 at 12:52 PM | Copyright 2008 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. |
 
 
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