Using someone’s Trademark in your book, blog or website is something that you need permission to do. Generally, trademark owners monitor use of their registered trademarks diligently and will often send cease and desist letters asking that unauthorized uses of their trademark be removed. (For example the NFL and POPSICLE trademarks are heavily monitored and policed in this way.)
How do you figure out if a word is a registered trademark? Sometimes you can tell by doing a quick GOOGLE search, or for a more definitive search look on in the USPTO’s list of registered trademarks. Here are instructions for running a basic USPTO (US Patent and Trademark Office) search to see if a word is a trademark:
- Click – http://tess2.uspto.gov/
- Then Click on – New User Form Search (Basic)
- Enter your business name in the ‘Search Term’ field
- Click – ‘Submit Query’
- To be really comprehensive, Back-page and search the key words in your business name separately
If you discover that a word is a trademark, it is possible that the trademark owner will give you permission to use their mark… ask em.
You might enjoy knowing that the inspiration for this post came up last night while I was talking to my mom. She is currently writing a children’s story about a horse that likes specific types of candies as treats. So, in order to list the candies in the text of her story, it’s important to know which ones are trademarks and which ones are not. This way she can acquire the needed permissions to use the trademarks. (my mom’s site – http://www.bayouponytales.com/ )
Filed in * Trademark Enforcement, * Vanessa Kaster, *Permission to use Trademark, *Popsicle Trademark, *Trademark
“Super Bowl” is a registered Trademark and permission is required to use it in advertising and promotions.
February 1, 2011
“Super Bowl” is a registered Trademark and permission is required to use it in advertising and promotions.
The NFL owns the registered trademark “Super Bowl” and using their trademark in a commercial context requires authorization. For example you must get permission from the NFL to use the term “Super Bowl” in commercials, promotions and advertising of any kind, including ticket giveaways. By contrast, the term “Super Bowl” can be freely used in news stories, commentary or discussions. The difference in these two examples is commercialization. If a trademark is used for a commercial purpose, then the use must be authorized by the trademark owner.
Many trademark owners aggressively police their trademarks and it is important to keep in mind that commercial use of a trademark term requires authorization.
See also USPTO registrations #3138590, #3343714, #76572704, #0882283, and #0846056 at www.uspto.gov and www.kasterlegal.com.
BY: Vanessa Kaster, Esq., LL.M.
For more personalized legal services contact me at vk@kasterlegal.com
Filed in * Trademark Enforcement, * Vanessa Kaster, *Permission to use Trademark, *Trademark
