A Case of Apple Infringement
Hey consumers? Are you in danger of being confused? A logo infringement case that gets less clear the closer you get to the core of the matter. Not too long ago, Apple Computer accused a Chinese company that produces flour and noodles of infringing Apple’s trademarked “Apple with a bite taken out of it”. The Chinese company, Sichuan Fangguo Food Co., Ltd., thinks that Apple is full of applesauce. The trademark in question is a stylized apple with two Chinese characters in the center, a stem and a leaf, with the lower left quarter...
read more“Fair Use” as a Defense to Trademark Infringement.
So, when can you “own” a name through registration of a federal trademark and not be able to stop someone else from using it? Sounds like the exact opposite from why you registered the trademark in the first place, but, as with just about everything in life, there are some exceptions with trademark law. The two biggest exceptions encompassed under the umbrella of “Fair Use Defenses” are uses that are “descriptive” and “nominative”. Descriptive use occurs when Company B uses a term, trademarked by Company A, to describe the...
read moreICIP Defends 16-year old Trademark Holder
ICIP successfully defends 16-year old trademark holder, client Corey Carrillo. In David Chan v. Corey Carrillo, the TTAB ruled in favor of ICIP’s client, 16-year old Corey Carrillo, dismissing Mr. Chan’s complaint with prejudice (which means he is out of luck in trying to challenge us again). Too bad a 16-year old trademark holder has to defend himself, but the TTAB did the right thing in this case. Mr. Carrillo is the inventor, manufacturer, and distributor of the “Grip Ur Deck” customized and customizable grip tape decks for...
read moreCarlsbad Chamber of Commerce Trademark Issue
InterContinental IP successfully defends Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. For some reason, people keep picking on the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce on trademark issues. InterContinental IP has had to recently step in and rectify a couple of situations and sucessfully defend the Chamber’s trademarks. Most recently, the Chamber has had some problems with rouge members setting up LinkedIn groups using the Carlsbad Chamber’s name. In the latest case, we had the Linkedin group dissolved and a new group, “Carlsbad Chamber of...
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