If someone violates the rights given to a person by the law concerning trademarks the act is called trademark infringement. Trademark infringement law gives the other party the right to sue the person accused.
A trademark which is similar or perplexingly the same as your trademark in connection with the goods or services you are promoting then an “infringement” occurs. Any federal registered trademark may be safeguarded under the Lanham or Trademark Act. The Lanham Act is a law encompassing the federal ruling on trademark law in the United States. The said act forbids actions which include dilution of trademark, bogus advertising, and trademark infringement.
You can file a trademark infringement if you demonstrated that certain rights of your trademark had been violated. Also, if the infringing mark creates possible confusion for your clients, then you may sue the person who owns it. During the process, an analysis will be made in order to reveal if any trademark infringement was produced. The following issues will be discussed and analyzed:
1. The design or pattern of the mark, both on inside and outside 2. The representation of your mark and eventual meanings 3. The pronunciation used with that mark will be analyzed and discussed 4. The connection between your services or products and the ones represented by the infringing mark 5. Testing the public opinion and the effect it leaves on the clients
Injunction is what the guilty party receives as a punishment. The term means that they will not be able to use their mark in a certain way; also they can pay trial costs or profit loss due to the trademark infringement to the other party, but that is not always necessary. Some companies may ask for financial benefits, some won’t.
Another common term when talking about trademark infringement is trademark dilution. A popular company can ask another company who uses a similar trademark to stop utilizing it. Denying the use of a specific trademark also requires a deep analyze and there are specific things that need to be taken in consideration.
If you don’t want to be accused with trademark infringement or you have already been accused once for it, there are some tips that will help you protect your business in the future. When choosing your trademark be certain that it is unique. If you don’t know for sure if you trademark is unique, you have to search and analyze other trademarks that may be similar with yours. This can be easily done over the internet. If you want, you can go to the Patent and Trademark Depository Library and search for already registered trademarks. The PTDL exists in most of the states.
There is a price for copying someone else’s original work. It is not simply injunction or paying monetary damages to the plaintiff that can happen to you. There are more upsetting instances that can happen to you. You or your company’s reputation is at stake with trademark infringement. Who would then trust someone who committed trademark infringement? No one.