Ever since law school when my trademarks professor put a series of trademarks on the screen and asked us to identify the company, I realized I was addicted to logos. The professor’s visual quiz got harder and harder. As she went through the slides, I realized that less and less people in my class knew what the logos were for. Towards the end, no one was guessing (correctly) except me. An addiction was realized.
Is it because I am, for some strange reason, mesmerized by television commercials? Is it the creative part of my brain screaming for attention in an otherwise logical, rules-based mind of a lawyer?
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So here’s Starbuck’s latest black eye: The Rat City Rollergirls.
This past spring, a dispute arose after Seattle-based coffee giant Starbucks asked Rat City (another Seattle-based company) to change its logo, claiming it looked to similar to its own. http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pnam=Rat%20City%20Rollergirls,%20LLC
Starbucks filed an inquiry with the USPTO. This inquiry asked for successive extensions of time to oppose the registration for the logo by Rat City. The USPTO terminated the opposition period and the Rat City logo was registered on September 9, 2008. http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=registration&entry=3497655
Yes, both logos are round. Both use the same sans-serif font. Both use two stars with an image of a woman in the center. But really, did Starbucks think they could put the kibosh on this one? This isn’t infringement. There’s not really even a chance for likelihood of confusion. Dilution of the mark? I suppose Starbucks has to do what it has to do to protect its mark, but c’mon. You decide. Was the USPTO right to deny further extension of the opposition period for Starbucks and register the trademark for Rat City?
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1 comment:
I am thinking of writing a new childrens book that is a direct parody of a popular childrens book. The title of the new book would be a "play on words" of the original title. The cadence of content text would be similiar to that of the original. The cartoons contained in the new book would also be similar but not exact to that of the original.
What steps would I need to take to protect myself, and is there enough risk in the proposed project to warrant not moving forward with it.
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