WHY DO A TRADEMARK SEARCH?

What do these two well-known tech companies have in common?

One saw its earnings drop 71% in the third quarter of this year and its share of the smart phone market in the United States drop from 30% to 18%. To add insult to injury two of its executives were fired when, on a flight to Beijing, after drinking heavily, they became belligerent, had to be restrained with plastic handcuffs, and their flight was forced to return from near the North Pole to the West Coast.

The other saw its 4th quarter revenue, reported in October, rise 39% and its share of the smart phone market in the United States reach 28% Its C.E.O. who died of cancer this year, was described in the New York Times on October 5, 2011 as a “visionary… who helped usher in the era of personal computers and then led a cultural transformation in the way music, movies and mobile communications were experienced in the digital age”

The first, Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry cell phone, intended to call its new operating system BBX. A small, Albuquerque-based software maker called Basis International, however, owned that mark, which is the subject of a U.S. Trademark Registration, #3,111,681, for computer programs, which mark it has used since 1985. After getting a restraining order from a federal court on November 29, 2011, Research In Motion decided to change the name of its new operating system to BlackBerry 10. Nevertheless, Basis’ Software Chief Executive was quoted in the New York Times on November 30th as saying that he would continue to seek damages and a permanent injunction from Research In Motion.

 Meanwhile, the other company, Apple, has learned from a Chinese court that it does not own the right to the iPad trademark in that small Asian nation. Like many nations outside the U.S., in China trademark rights are based on registration rather than use, and, in China, Proview Technology, a Chinese company that tried to sell a tablet computer call I-Pad a number of years ago, registered that mark in China. Proview is suing Apple resellers in China to halt the sale of the iPad after the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court ruled in favor of Proview against Apple.

 THE MORAL OF THESE STORIES: WHETHER YOU HAVE A FEW THOUSAND DOLLARS, OR, IN THE CASE OF APPLE, (AS REPORTED IN THE JULY 29, 2011 LA TIMES MORE CASH ON HAND THAN THE U.S. TREASURY) SPEND A THOUSAND DOLLARS OR LESS AND GET A TRADEMARK AVAILABILITY OPINION FROM AN ATTORNEY BEFORE BRANDING A PRODUCT.

About ERIC WACHSPRESS

The material on this website is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered legal advice and is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship. If you have questions regarding any material presented herein, we recommend that you consult an attorney. This web site and information presented herein were designed in accordance with Illinois law. Any content in conflict with the laws or ethical code of attorney conduct of any other jurisdiction is unintentional and void. I am a Chicago attorney practicing in the areas of trademark, copyright and information technology law as well as general corporate law. Formerly a trademark examining attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, I have been in private practice since 1987 representing clients in a wide variety of industries, including the consumer products, financial services, information technology and entertainment industries. You can contact me at markscounsel@gmail.com, by phone at 773.934.5855 or by mail at 417 S. Jefferson St., #304, Chicago, IL 60607 USA
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