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New York City Trademarks

June 2, 2016 by ddawsey

New York Trademark News & Resources

Did you know that the New York Public Library is a member of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent and Trademark Resource Center program? As part of that program, the library provides resources and education to the public about the use of Patent and Trademark materials and other resources (primarily those found on the Internet), and provide access to many of those resources at their Science, Industry and Business Library location. They also a wealth of information about Patents and Trademarks, as well as individual consultations about researching Patents and Trademarks. During regular library hours, they provide some assistance by telephone at 917-ASK-NYPL (917-275-6975). Learn more at their patent and trademark website: http://www.nypl.org/node/5723

View our page for more information on Trademarks in New York City.

Chicago Trademark

June 2, 2016 by ddawsey

Chicago Trademark News & Resources

Can Out-of-State Entities Claim “Chicago Style?”

Two out-of-state entities from Minnesota and Connecticut are fighting for trademark rights in the popcorn business, leading one to speculate on how far place names can be taken in trademark. Is there such a thing as “Chicago Style” popcorn, and if, isn’t that a descriptive phrase that might not be eligible for trademark protection? You can read a bit about the dispute here.

The scene was set when St. Paul, Minnesota popcorn maker Candyland, Inc. secured the right to the mark CHICAGO MIX® over some other food giants. And as one might expect, after that battle, they weren’t please when Westport, Connecticut based “Popcorn, Indiana” began selling “Chicago Style” popcorn through such major outlets as Wal-Mart, Walgreen’s, CVS and Whole Foods.

The case is just getting underway, but you can read the Complaint as filed by Candyland . Candyland alleges trademark infringement, federal unfair competition, violations of Minnesota Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and trademark dilution (use of a similar mark that “dilutes” the reputation of a “famous” mark).

Oddly enough, so far, neither of the litigants, nor Candyland’s lawyers, are from Chicago. Will Popcorn, Indiana hire a Chicago firm to fight for the name “Chicago Style?” We’ll see.

Good and Bad Marks Can Be Closely Related

May 13, 2015 by ddawsey

It’s an interesting paradox that some poor choices as trademarks can be closely related to excellent marks. Probably the #1 reason we give negative opinions on trademark searches, and the #1 reason for trademark rejections by the trademark office, is that the proposed mark is descriptive.

A descriptive mark, or as the trademark office likes to call them, marks that are “merely” descriptive, are marks that “merely” describe the goods and services. Because they are descriptors of the kind of the goods, they can’t serve as identifiers of the source of the goods. Therefore, they can’t act as trademarks or service marks, because the purpose of marks is to assure the public of the provider of the goods, not the nature of the goods themselves.