Tabberone's Unauthorized Use page.

Home | Site Index | Disclaimer | Email Me!

Unauthorized Use!

The Lanham Act plainly refers to someone who, without authorization, uses or imitates another's mark in such a way as to possibly cause confusion. Confusion is the benchmark of Trademark Infringement. Without confusion there is no infringement.
The Lanam Act states:
Sec. 1114. - (1) Any person who shall, without the consent of the registrant -
(a) use in commerce any reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of a registered mark in connection with the sale, offering for sale, distribution, or advertising of any goods or services on or in connection with which such use is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive; or
(b) reproduce, counterfeit, copy, or colorably imitate a registered mark and apply such reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation to labels, signs, prints, packages, wrappers, receptacles or advertisements intended to be used in commerce upon or in connection with the sale, offering for sale, distribution, or advertising of goods or services on or in connection with which such use is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive,
shall be liable in a civil action by the registrant for the remedies hereinafter provided. Under subsection (b) hereof, the registrant shall not be entitled to recover profits or damages unless the acts have been committed with knowledge that such imitation is intended to be used to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive.
The wording is sepcific. The Lanham Act refers to "counterfeits" and "reproductions". Lawfully acquired copyrighted fabric does not fall into the the categories defined in the Lanham Act. But, unethical lawyers use the phrase "without the consent of the registrant" to foist the "unautorized" attack upon lawful use of the fabrics.
The Lanham Act also states that the "registrant" cannot recover damages if the offender did not intend to cause confusion or did not intend to deceive the public. The burdon of proof is on trademark owner to prove intent.

Rebuttals
In an effort to provide a balanced view, we make the following offer to anyone who feels they have been wrongly accused on this web site.
If you, or your company, have been referenced on these pages, and you would like the chance to post a rebuttal, we will post your rebuttal (provided it is in good taste) so others can read it. The rebuttal must be submitted in a format that can easily be converted into HTML. We reserve the right to alter the rebuttal to make it more readable. However, we will not alter the content (unless there is offensive material to be removed). We also reserve the right to comment on any rebuttal received. Emails protesting the content of this web site may be treated as rebuttals by us at our discretion.
We made this offer a very long time ago and as of September 2008, only AnimieHot.com, in our Hall Of Shame, and Charlotte Perman (Sevenarts in our Hall Of Shame) have chosen to submit a formal rebuttal.