Another Trademark / Adwords Case … Carrier v. Reply!, Inc. And … Why You’d Better Police Your Brand.

There is no sense in belaboring this lesson. However, just so you know that this is an issue you should take seriously, we are going to post this quick note about the lawsuit filed recently by Carrier (the air conditioning people) against online lead generating company Reply! Inc. Reply sells online leads to businesses. One of the business categories is air conditioning contractors. In the complaint, Carrier alleges that Reply! devlelops leads for air conditioning contractors by bidding on Carrier’s brand on Google, then using Carrier’s logo on the landing page. Air conditioning units from other brands are quoted on the landing page as well. Reply also created the domain carrier.reply.com. Apparently Carrier didn’t like the use of their well-developed brand...

Using Someone Else’s Trademark As An Adword to Divert Traffic to Your Web Site. Smart Marketing? Or Trademark Infringement?

Here is the scenario. Sales are down. Your competition is kicking your tail. You know that you can grab more market share if ONLY you could get the attention of potential customers searching for your product online, but your main competition has a nice, memorable, eye-and-ear catching trademark (which of course they have registered with the USPTO). The enemy is taking market share: his trademark is becoming the “go-to” search term for his/your product. You are looking for a way to distinguish your product and grab attention. Unfortunately the competing products are virtually the same. Its that darn trademark that is making the difference. He is beating you in the branding game. You know it, your business...

Why Register Your Trademark? Just Ask iCloud (umm … iCloud Communications, That Is)

By:  Steve Thomas
The old trademark rule is “First in Time, First in Right”. Which is a truism. However, iCloud Communications is about to learn the value of federal trademark registration. Simply being first in use of a mark may not matter when a giant like Apple steps all over your brand like a lumbering mastadon. iCloud is a cloud computing services provider in Arizona who claims to have spent over $500,000 building out its data center and tens of thousands of dollars per year building its brand, all since 2005. Apple, of course, recently launched its iCloud product, long after iCloud Communications claims to have begun operations under the iCloud name. However, now...

What are the Differences Between Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights?

Trademarks, copyrights, and patents all provide protection for intellectual property but the kinds of intellectual property they protect may be different and the protections afforded by each are different as well. A trademark is a source indicator.  This means that the purpose of a trademark is to indicate who is responsible for producing the item bearing the mark.  When a consumer recognizes a trademark, the consumer may be more or less likely to consume the product bearing the mark based upon the consumer’s perception of the mark.  Symbols, words, phrases, pictures, and other source indicators may be eligible for trademark...

Exploring the Difference Between Trademarks and Fictitious Name Registration

In Florida, fictitious name registration is governed by Florida Statutes § 865.09, also known as the “Fictitious Name Act.”  This Act requires that a person engaging in business under a fictitious name must register with the Division of Corporations of the Department of State.  The purpose of this registration is merely to give notice as to who is operating the business under the assumed name.  Registration of the fictitious name does not stake out the name as your own or even guarantee that nobody else is using the name. If you would like to protect the use of a word or phrase,...

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