Trademark: Legal Care for Your Business & Product Name

377 Pages·2007·6.39 MB·english

by  Stephen Elias Attorney

8th edition
Trademark
Legal Care for Your Business
& Product Name
by Attorneys Stephen Elias & Richard Stim
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8th edition
Trademark
Legal Care for Your Business
& Product Name
by Attorneys Stephen Elias & Richard Stim
Eighth Edition august 2007
Editor RichaRd stim
cover design susan PutnEy
Book design tERRi hEaRsh
Production saRah hinman
Example illustrations John millER & hEathER snydER
indexer victoRia BakER
Proofreading Paul tylER
Printing dElta PRinting solutions, inc.
Elias, stephen.
trademark : legal care for your business & product name / by stephen Elias.--
8th ed.
p. cm.
includes index.
isBn-13: 978-1-4133-0699-6 (pbk.)
isBn-10: 1-4133-0699-3 (pbk.)
1. trademarks--law and legislation--united states--Popular works. 2. Business
names--law and legislation--united states--Popular works. i. title.
kF3180.Z9E43 2007
346.7304’88--dc22 2007013018
copyright © 2007 by stephen Elias
all Rights REsERvEd. PRintEd in thE usa.
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Dedication
i dedicate this book to my mother, the late Edna Elias-Johnson, and
to stanley and dorothy Pearson. they don’t make ’em like they
used to.
Steve Elias

Table of Contents
20 Frequently Asked Trademark Questions
...............................1
Introduction
................................................................................................................................................9
1 A Trademark Primer ......................................................................................................................11
Trademarks and Trademark Law ......................................................................................................13
Basic Principles of Trademark Law ...................................................................................................17
The Role of Federal Registration in Protecting Trademarks ..............................................23
Not All Business Names Are Trademarks ...................................................................................26
Trade Name Formalities ........................................................................................................................27
Trade Dress and Product Designs ....................................................................................................31
Sources of Trademark Law ..................................................................................................................35
The Difference Between Trademark and Copyright ..............................................................36
The Difference Between Trademark and Patent ......................................................................37
2 Trademarks, Domain Names, and the Internet ...................................................39
How to Clear and Register Domain Names ................................................................................40
What to Do If the Domain Name You Want Is Already Registered ..............................44
Domain Names and Trademarks ......................................................................................................46
Other Trademark Issues in Cyberspace .........................................................................................47
3 How to Choose a Good Name for Your
Business, Product, or Service .................................................................................................51
Anatomy of a Product or Service Name Trademark ..............................................................53
Distinctive Names Make Legally Strong Trademarks ............................................................54
How Trademark Law Treats Marks With Common Terms ...............................................55
What Makes a Distinctive Trademark a Legally Strong Trademark? .............................57
Guidelines for Making a Mark Distinctive ...................................................................................59
Marketing Considerations When Choosing a Name Mark ...............................................67