Some of the most well-known registered rademarks in the world are surnames – McDonalds, Dell and Ford. However, registering a trademark that is primarily a surname is prohibited in both Canada and the United States. What is the trick?
For the last three years, the Calgary-based Blanco Cantina restaurant has been using “Taco Tuesday” in its advertising for half price taco specials on Tuesday. Blanco Cantina recently received a cease and desist letter from Taco Time franchisor MTY Tiki Ming Enterprises Inc.
Louis Vuitton Advised to “Smile or Laugh”, Not Sue
We have all seen the bumper sticker: My other car is a Porsche.
And the bag: My other bag is a Louis Vuitton.
Do they make you feel any less of Porsche or Louis Vuitton?
A U.S. District Court Judge has found that My Other Bag’s use of Louis Vuitton on its canvas totes does not amount to trademark infringement.
NIKE, Inc. has filed a request for extension of time to file opposition with the USPTO as its first step towards opposing WWE’s application to register the mark “Just Bring It”. The request was filed on January 28, 2016, the last day of the 30-day publication period for the application.
Business owners are often hesitant to register their trademarks and are unaware that failing to do so could expose their business to greater expenses than those associated with trademark registration. A competitor with a registered trademark has the right to force a business to stop using an unregistered trademark if it is confusingly similar to their registered trademark.
The World Cup attracts some of the biggest brand name sponsors in the world including Adidas, MacDonald’s, Sony and Budweiser. FIFA official partners reportedly pay $20-50 million per event to take part as sponsors in the World Cup. This year the total financial contributions to FIFA by the 20 official business partners of the World Cup reached an estimated $1.4 billion.
Effective brand development and protection goes far beyond trademark registration. Intellectual property rights are just one element of a brand. As a business operator, you must the elements of your brand that you have secured legal rights to are the same elements that resonate with the market.
Great question. The answer lies somewhere between maybe and maybe not. If you are not careful, your business name may be a liability instead of an asset.
You registered your business name (trade name) in Ontario and paid $60 for five years. The Ontario government issued you a master business licence and a Business Identification Number.