A Board Certified Patent Attorney

Posts Tagged ‘trademark categories’

How we went from Patent Attorney’s to The Idea Attorneys®

If you would like have a unique competitive advantage from everyone else in your industry, and enjoy “impossible to forget” status, then I’ve got a quick story to share with you. Over a decade ago, when my partner Glenn and I decided to devote our lives to patent and trademark law, I suggested to Glenn what may have seemed to many be a rather obvious idea. Why not call ourselves The Idea Attorneys®. Glenn thought it was a fantastic idea, but he had doubts. He said, “John, there are hundreds of attorney’s practicing patent and trademark law. I’m sure someone has thought about using the name idea attorneys.” At this time we were both buried with work, but I set aside a few hours each night to scour the trademark records to see if the name was taken. Amazingly, it was free.

Trademark on Your Logo Already? Maybe not…

The owner of a Federally registered trademark is presumed to be the exclusive owner of the mark for the goods and services. So, if a word or phrase is already trademarked, does that mean you can’t use it? Most people think yes. But there is a little loophole in trademark law that allows you to use a trademarked term even if it’s protected and widely used. Let’s take a closer look with a few examples… Trademark Example #1: Delta I’m sure you’ve heard of the airline giant Delta Airlines. But you probably aren’t aware of Kitchen faucet manufacture Delta Faucet. Delta faucet holds a number of trademarks for its products including its In2ition two in one shower, the Linden waterfall pull-out kitchen faucet, and the Dryden bath faucet. But it also owns a registered mark on the Delta name, just like