PROTECTING YOUR TRADEMARK FOR YOUR NEW OLD PRODUCT FOR THE NEW ECONOMY

Reuters reported today that consumer spending rose in February for the eighth straight month, by .3%. However, prices rose .4% that same month. Probably not coincidentally, the New York Times wrote on February 25th under the title “Consumers Hold On to Products Longer” that “For a number of products-cars, phones, computers, even shampoo and toothpaste-the data shows a slowing of product life cycles and consumption.” One analyst quoted in the article wrote, “People are squeezing the last bit out of the shampoo. They seem to be adding more water to really squeeze out the last bit.” Since Reuters also reported that “Consumer spending accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity,” if these trends are true, future economic growth may be stunted for some time.

If there is little perceived demand for new products, there will be little incentive for businesses to invest money in researching and developing new products; which in the intellectual property business means there will be less patents to prosecute and fewer new brand names that will require trademark protection.

But maybe not. There is a plethora of potential products and services that could find markets or larger markets in this new economy and generate economic activity. Here are some examples; Tablet computers (as a substitute for a laptop or a second computer at home), sewing machines, hand-powered lawn mowers, home improvement stores, DIY products such as toilet repair kits, ceiling fans, window air conditioning units, floor tiles, paint and laminate flooring found in those stores, portable ramps for driveway use so one can change one’s own oil, home exchanges (providing free lodging), TV antennas (for individuals who want to cut their connection with the cable company), on-line video-on-demand (Cable or satellite subscriptions or movie tickets not required.), and turboprop airplanes (a 50-seat regional jet breaks even with 45 seats filled; a turboprop breaks even with 35 seats filled.)

So, both on the ground, economically, and, in the air, things are likely to be bumpy for a while. Registering your new product or service name can make things smoother by allowing you to sue for infringement of your brand name in federal court, providing notice to third-parties of your claim of exclusive right to that name, having that registration serve as prima facie evidence of the validity of your name or design as a trademark or service mark, of your ownership of that mark and of your exclusive right to use that mark and that mark, once registered, by its existence on the Patent Office Principal Register, will provide notice to third-parties of your claim of exclusive right to it.