Q: If I receive a "cease and desist" letter from Entrepreneur Media, what should I do?
A: Do NOT contact Entrepreneur Media or its attorneys yourself. If you received a letter from an attorney, you should reply with an attorney. Find the best legal assistance possible -- a firm that understands and has experience litigating intellectual property issues. If you are unsuccessful in finding satisfactory legal assistance, contact us and we will provide the names of several attorneys experienced in trademark and domain-name legal issues.
Q: What words can be trademarked and which can't?
A: The answer to that question is more complicated than space permits. In short, no protection is given to generic words used in generic senses (i.e., "entrepreneur"). The more coined the word, the more protection it receives ("Xerox" is more protectable than "Acme," for example). The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office does issue trademarks for dictionary words issued in NON-generic senses. For example, a trademark registration was awarded for "BET" to Black Entertainment Television. If "BET" was used for gambling services, the application most likely would have been rejected.
Q: Why do some generic words used in generic senses get registered as trademarks?
A: Fortunately this doesn't happen very often. There are a variety of reasons for this. Often the description of goods was written in such a way as to make it appear to be non-generic. Trademark application examiners are human and occasionally make mistakes (they actually issued a trademark registration for the word "Internet," for example). Often when a flawed application gets published for opposition, no one is around to complain about it. Fortunately there are mechanisms to get rid of registrations that should never have been issued. Unfortunately these mechanisms tend to be very, very slow moving and expensive.
Q: Can more than one company own a trademark?
A: Yes. Companies often have the same trademark in different industries. The more generic the word, the more likely it is is to be tied to multiple trademark applications. For example, one company named "Champion" has a trademark covering spark plugs, another "Champion" manufactures sporting goods and clothing. In fact, there are 464 trademark registrations filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that contain the word "champion."
Q: Does a trademark have to be registered with the government to be valid?
A: No, but registration often provides additional protection that might not otherwise be available.
Q: How do I find out more about trademarks?
A: Consult an attorney that specializes in trademarks and intellectual property rights. Check out Carl Oppedahl's Patents.com Web site. It has a number of good pages about trademarks, including an introduction to trademarks. You might also want to visit Nolo Press' Nolo.com site. It contains helpful basic information regarding trademarks. We highly recommend Nolo's book "Trademark: Legal Care for Your Business & Product Name" for basic information. Anyone with more than basic questions (i.e., anyone using the word "entrepreneur") may want to consult an attorney.
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