Florida Trademark Attorney Giving You the Representation You Need for Infringement Claims

For many people, becoming a business owner is a lifelong dream. Starting and running one’s own company is a goal many Americans work years to achieve. More than many other career ambitions, running your own business takes years of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice. For a successful business, this sacrifice is worth it.

Sometimes, our success can be threatened by forces that seem beyond our control. One of these forces may be claims of trademark infringement. Another business accusing you of infringing on a trademark can be potentially devastating. This is why it’s important to know your rights and trademark law, and what to do if you’re accused of infringement.

What is Trademark Law?

A trademark is a distinctive word, symbol, character, element, or phrase legally registered or established by a company to represent that company and/or its products. Some examples of trademarks include:

•       The McDonald’s Golden Arches
•       The Nike “Swoosh”
•       The Coca-Cola Cursive Logo
•       Cheetos’ Chester Cheetah
•       Adidas’ Three Stripes

A trademark is recognizable as representing a unique product or business. Because trademarks are so linked to a business’ identity, they are protected under trademark law. Under the law, trademark law protects “brand names used for goods or services, logos, [and] distinctive product and packaging designs.” Generally speaking, if a person or company has trademarked something, it cannot be used by another company. This is to avoid another person or business representing themselves as being affiliated with another business.

Using someone else’s trademark is called infringement. A person or business might intentionally infringe on a trademark in order to get people to believe they are connected to that business. This could drive people to their own company and take profits from the original trademark owner. A business might also infringe on a trademark to release an inferior version of another company’s product to harm their reputation with the buying public.

In some cases, a business may bring a wrongful allegation of copyright infringement against another business. There are several reasons for this. Fortunately there are defenses against wrongful infringement claims.

What Are Defenses Against Wrongful Infringement Claims?

Trademark infringement is illegal and could potentially cost the company owner large amounts of money. It could potentially even result in the business’ closure. The United States Supreme Court has ruled intentionality is not a defense to trademark infringement. This means even if you did not mean to infringe on a trademark, if it can be proven you did, you are still liable.

The law recognizes there are cases where a person or business may wrongfully claim infringement. One reason could be that a business is more successful than a rival with similar logos or branding and they are attempting to harm the competition. A business may also be overzealous in defending their trademark and claim infringement for similar yet distinctly different trademarks. For example, Lucky Charms Cereal and Notre Dame football team both use Leprechauns as mascots. However, they are distinct enough there is no infringement.

There are several defenses against allegations of trademark infringement. These include:

•       First Use
•       Abandonment
•       Acquiescence
•       Laches

First use means you trademarked something first. Even if another business achieves wider recognition with a trademark, if you were the first to use it, this is a defense. For example, the nature conservancy World Wildlife Fund was founded in 1961 and branded itself as the WWF. In 1979, the sports entertainment company the World Wide Wrestling Federation changed its name to the World Wrestling Federation and also branded itself as the WWF. Although the sports company rose to greater prominence in the public sphere, the World Wildlife Fund was able to successfully argue they had trademarked WWF first. This forced the World Wrestling Federation to become World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE.

Abandonment is when it can be proven a company stopped using their trademark in a significant way for a significant amount of time. One example are Coca Cola bottles. At one time, the distinctive bell-shaped bottle was trademarked by Coca-Cola and only they could manufacture them. In the 1980s, Coca-Cola stopped trademarking these bottles as they shifted to focus on cans and plastic bottles. As a result, the trademark was considered abandoned. Now, many companies sell soft drinks in similar bottles.

Acquiescence is when a company allows another company to use its trademark. This may be because they no longer intend on doing business, or are attempting to rebrand. If another company using the trademark later becomes successful, the original company may attempt to claim infringement.

Laches is a term referring to a company’s failure to bring a claim of trademark infringement. For example, if another fast food chain began using the McDonalds’ golden arches, McDonalds would be expected to bring action in a timely manner. If McDonalds waited several years to bring a claim, it could be a defense that they failed to take action in a timely manner against their competitor.

These are only a few potential defenses. Trademark law is incredibly complex. Businesses can bring many arguments of infringement against other businesses. Similarly, there are many defenses to allegations of infringement.

What Should I Do if I’m Accused of Trademark Infringement?

Accusations of trademark infringement can potentially cause great damage to a business or individual. Losing a trademark infringement case could be the one thing standing between your company and bankruptcy. This is why it’s important to hire an experienced attorney.

If you or a loved one have been accused of trademark infringement, call Andrea DeMichael at DeMichael Law right away at 863-216-1831. She brings a deep sense of dedication to every client she represents. Over a quarter of all her cases involve trademark law. She has a success rate of having 40% of all her cases dismissed before they even reach a courtroom. This is significantly higher than the national average. She understands how important trademarks are to a business and what false claims of infringement can mean.

Don’t let false claims ruin the business you’ve worked so hard to build. If you or a loved one have been accused of copyright infringement, call Andrea DeMichael at DeMichael law today, at 863-216-1831. She’ll fight so you don’t have to.