Companies invest a lot of money in naming their products and services ?trying to achieve a distinctive and memorable name that conveys their brand image to the market place. Name disputes arise when someone else uses a name that is 聯confusingly similar?and seems to 聯trade off?the established business cases below highlight some name disputes. Test yourself ?who do you think won these disputes? Answers are below.
(1) Federal Express v. Federal Expresso?
Federal Expresso Easton Stick Chargers Jersey , a coffee shopespresso machine importer picked the name when considering a location near the Federal building. Federal Express, the overnight shipping service, objected.
Who won?
(2) Prozac v. Herbrozac?
Eli Lilly objected to the name Herbrozac Drue Tranquill Chargers Jersey , an herbal product, designed to achieve similar results to Eli Lilly聮s antidepressant Prozac.
Who won?
(3) Spam (by Hormel) v. Spa聮am (Jim Henson muppet in 聯Muppet Treasure Island?
Hormel contended that Henson's use of the character "Spa'am" in its movie and related merchandise would infringe andor dilute Hormel's trademark in the luncheon meat SPAM.
Who won?
(4) re: 聯 ?br > Hasbro, owner of the detective board game Nasir Adderley Chargers Jersey , Clue, Clue Computing聮s use of website .
Who won?
(5) re: 聯 ?br > Bensusan Restaurant Corp. (owner of 聯The Blue Note? NYC) objected to Richard King聮s use of the website . Richard King operates a business called 聯The Blue Note?(Columbia, MO)
Who won?
(6) re
Dennis Toeppen set up a joke website Jerry Tillery Chargers Jersey , , with photos of Pana, IL and then demanded money from Panavision International.
Who won?
(7) re
Archie Comics objected to the Sams Family聮s website full of photos of their two-year old daughter Mike Williams Chargers Jersey , Veronica
Who won?
The answers are interesting. The big companies don聮t always win.
Winners:
(1) Federal Espresso. It doesn聮t compete for overnight deliveries; customers for overnight delivery are savvy enough to distinguish between coffee and delivery; and the delivery mammoth had no fears of losing business to the two-outlet coffee shop.
(2) Prozac. The name 聯Prozac?has no meaning outside the product it was created for, so a strikingly similar name can only have been selected to attract consumers looking for 聯Prozac?
(3) The Muppets. Spa聮am聮s name was only used once in the movie, and he was not Derwin James Chargers Jersey , as Hormel asserted, the porcine embodiment of evil, just the leader of a tribe of wild boars devoted to the worship of Miss Piggy.
(4) Clue Computing. was set up for legitimate commerce Joey Bosa Chargers Jersey , not as cybersquatting. Consumers would be unlikely to confuse the services of a single-employee consulting firm with the detective board game. A trademark holder is not automatically entitled to use that mark as its domain name.
(5) King. King聮s Web site clearly did not appeal to customers of the New York 聯Blue Note?even though it could be viewed by New York residents, because his own location was in Missouri. The New York club was not losing business to the Missouri club.
(6) Panavision International. Dennis Toeppen聮s money demand cast Toeppen in the role of cybersquatter.
(7) The Sams Family. Archie Comic Publications heavy-handed cease and desist letters and the public聮s negative response to the giant publisher possibly suing the baby persuaded the company to cease and desist itself. Not even cartoon customers would have confused the baby pictures with Archie聮s girlfriend.
In conclusion, names are important. When selecting a name for your products or services Melvin Gordon III Chargers Jersey , you聮ll want to check out that no one else is already using that name. If the name you select is similar to an existing one, you will want to consider whether your use is sufficiently different, to avoid a battle (different type of service such as Federal Expresso Philip Rivers Chargers Jersey , or different geography such as ). You聮ll also want to take steps to legally protect your name, by registering the domain name and applying for a Trademark. Once you聮ve taken steps to legally protect your name, you will be better positioned to defend your name against copycats.