Trademark Law.

Home | Site Index | Disclaimer | Email Me!

Trademark Definitions & Law

To the unititiated, trademark law is confusing. Appropriate because the touchstone of trademark infringement is consumer confusion. Trademark lawyers, i.e., corporate lawyers, trade on this confusion when falsely threatening trademark infringemnt and improperly interferring with the legitimate sales of items. The following information is provided in an effort to explain in lay terms the various aspects of trademark law; not all of which are consistant throught the federal court system and some are still unsettled.
Some companies, and their corporate lawyers, will allege almost anything in order to pad their case and to scare their opponent. Their original allegations do not have to be actually presented to a court. In many cases they are an act of intimidation, or posturing. Remember, lawyers get paid by the number of pages they generate; not whether they win or lose. If lawyers got paid for winning, there would be considerably fewer court cases.
We do not agree with all of the opinions or conclusions stated in these articles. We have attempted to present all sides of the arguments as we have found them. We only present information we consider to be well-argued and factually supported. We do not take credit for the information presented. The great majority of it is gleaned from other sources. In many cases we credit the originator.
Bear in mind, that from 1947, the year the Lanham Act was made law, through 2005, the owners of trademarks have not fared well in federal court cases for trademark infringement. Of the cases that went to trial, the trademark owners won ONLY 51% of the decisions. They lost as often as they won. So, if a trademark owner accuses you of infringement, and you are confident you were not infringing (after reading this site), the trademark owner may be guity of Trademark Extortion,

Blurring, the act of diluting a famous trademark.

Confusion using the same 'mark' as--or one similar to--that used by another in such a way that they confuse the public about who really produced the goods or service.

Dilution, for famous marks only.

Fair Use, a valid defense to trademark infringement.

Initial Interest Confusion, attracting the attention of a potential buyer through deception.

Likelihood Of Confusion, what trademark infringement is all about.

Disclaimers, what courts say about them and how corporate lawyers lie about them.

Disclaimers and Federal Court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals . suggested it was a better remedy than injunctive relief.

Parallel Imports, products coming into the country.

Puffery, according to trademark law, is not actionable.

Secondary Meaning, what it is, and what determines it.

Subsequent Confusion, consumer confusion down the road after the initial sale.

Tabberone Disclaimer, and suggested auction title format, that you can copy and use.

Trademark Extortion, opinion and articles

Unfair Competition, just what it sounds like.

What is a Trademark?