In trademark litigation, it is the plaintiff’s burden to plead and prove validity of the trademark and infringement by defendant. For trademark infringement, the test is “likelihood of confusion.” The likelihood of confusion test for trademark infringement is used in both common-law and also statutory infringement. What exactly is the likelihood of confusion test? Simply [...]
In our free market economy, public domain (i.e., an invention, creative work, commercial symbol, or any other creation that is not protected by through trademarks, copyrights, or patents) is the general rule and intellectual property is the exception. Therefore it follows that imitating or copying a successful market concept or trend that is not [...]
A generic trademark is a product name or term which is the actual name for that product. Examples include: BANANA for bananas, or LAW FIRM for a law firm or CHICAGO TRADEMARK ATTORNEY for Chicago trademark attorney. A generic term is not eligible for trademark registration or protection. The rationale being, to allow a business or individual [...]
While this specific occurrence happened a couple years ago, our Chicago trademark attorneys believe that this matter showcases a variety of issues that can arise if one were applying for a federal trademark registration or how your business could protect yourself from trademark infringement. Starbucks, the behemoth Seattle based coffee company worth an estimated $16.447 [...]
