Representation for Trademark Law

A trademark protects products, services, and company identifiers like brands, logos, and package designs. They identify which person or company is the source or origin of goods and services and distinguish the trademarked goods and services from those made or sold by others.

Trademarks may take the form of:

Names, e.g., CALVIN KLEIN® apparel and GEORGE FOREMAN® grills

Brands, e.g., COKE® soft drinks and APPLE® computers

Designs and Symbols, e.g., Nike’s “Swoosh” design on footwear

Slogans, e.g., Wendy’s slogan WHERE’S THE BEEF® and De Beers’ slogan A DIAMOND IS FOREVER®

Trademarks may also take the form of:

Color, e.g., the color of Owens-Corning’s pink fiberglass insulation

Sound, e.g., NBC Universal Media’s chimes

Scents, e.g., Hasbro’s Playdough

Package, product, or store design, e.g., the shape of fragrance bottles or the interior design of a restaurant

Trademarks consisting of colors or packages, products, store designs, or combinations of these features are referred commonly to as “trade dress.”

• Marks that are confusingly similar to another’s trademark. This often occurs when the marks are similar in appearance and/or pronunciation and are used on similar goods and services.
• Marks that are overly descriptive or generic of the goods or services they cover, such as “COLD AND SWEET” for ice cream. It is possible for some descriptive marks to eventually become protectable by acquiring distinctiveness through use and customer recognition. However, it is also possible for protection to be lost when marks become generic through improper use, such as “ESCALATOR” for moving stairways.
• Marks that have no connection to any good or service. Trademark law protects the use of marks as source-identifiers for particular products and services. Trademark law does not allow you to exclude others from using words, phrases, symbols, etc. in the abstract.

If your business is impacted by trademark infringement, our trademark attorneys will perform due diligence and assess the damages to your business. If the infringement cannot be solved through mediation, our attorneys are prepared to take your claims to court, demonstrate the violation of your trademark protection and seek appropriate damages for your business.