Cyber Law – Trademark

Cyber Law – Trademark

Part 1

‘’Where’s the beef” is a trademark that was first published in 1984 for use in Wendy’s hamburger restaurants or the Wendy’s International, Inc. Corporation. As such, the type of product covered under this trademark is restaurant services. This trademark sought to differentiate the lager beef in Wendy’s product from the big-name competitors such as Burger King and McDonald’s. The serial number for this trademark, as indicated in TESS, is 73475259, and it was first filled in April 13, 1984. The trademark was then registered on September 9, 1986, with the recent status date being recorded as February 9, 2017. The current owner of this trademark is Quality is Our Recipe, LLC, a limited liability company located in Ohio, US. The attorney of record is Ryan M. Budnarczuk. The mark is currently alive after being renewed in 2017 for ten years, which means that the next renewal is scheduled for 2027.

Part 2

The slogan ‘’clap on, clap off” does not appear in the TESS database. This means that there possibly that no company is using a similar trademark or slogan. Lack of prior utilization by another company suggests that this slogan does not create any conflict, and the client should not have problems registering it. However, registration is only possible as a slogan but not a trademark. A slogan, according to the legal provision in section 1215.05(b) (ii) of the trademark manual of examining procedures, is a ‘’brief attention-getting phrase used in advertising or promotion” (United States Patent and Trademark Office, 2018). In other words, a slogan is a catchphrase that a firm uses to advertise a product. A company can register a slogan as a trademark if it is neither descriptive nor informative and applied in the sense of trademark rather than merely ornamental.

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) asserts that some slogans are unable to function as trademarks because they are too descriptive, common, and laudatory (USA trademark registration, n.d.). In special cases, the slogan may be registered as trademarks if they have acquired distinctiveness that is provable by way of facts. In this case, the slogan class on, clap off does not have an element of distinctiveness in it. On a different note, the slogan appears to not ornamental because it does not distinguish or identify a company’s goods or services. As such, failure to identify and distinguish the product of the sources makes it very difficult to register this slogan as a trademark. Nevertheless, the aim of registering slogans is for protection, which is why no legal repercussions can be realized if the Company has been using the slogan for a few years back. However, the company could face legal disputes if another entity had registered the slogan.

Part 3

The slogan ‘‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up’’ is available in the TESS database, and thus, there could be legal repercussions of the business choosing to use this phrase. The slogan is owned by the Life Alert Emergency Response, Inc. Corporation whose headquarter is in California. It was filed in 2006 to offer the services of phone call monitoring to notify neighboring emergency facilities. Its serial number and the registration number is 78911769 and 3255726, respectively. The most recent renewal was done on July 13, 2017, and its indicator is live. This status means that usage of this already registered slogan is not advisable while it may lead to a conflict of interest between the two involved entities. However, it is essential to note that the slogan is generic and non-descriptive in nature, and thus, there could be legal grounds for the usage of the same slogan. However, in relation to the emergency services, the slogan appears to be a fit for the purpose because it conveys an element of being incapacitated. For the business in question, however, the slogan does not appear to describe the goals and services being offered. As such, it is more advisable for the firm to revise this slogan to fit the nature of the business and its products and goods.

Part 4

The phrase ‘’you sank my battleship” is not available in the TESS database, which means that the company can use it as its catchphrase without facing any legal complaints. The company deals in video games that have warships in them, which makes this slogan relevant and descriptive of the products and services that the company sells. This understanding relates to the Blackrock v. OHIM case, where the court ruled that trademarks must be descriptive enough to identify the services or products of the owning company from other undertakings. Another pertinent example is the slogan ‘’where all your favorites come together” that was rejected on the basis of failure to portray reasonable meaning (United States Patent and Trademark Office, 2019). The UK trade registry declined to offer registration citing that the slogan comprised only of a sequence of dictionary words, and thus, do not bear any differentiated meaning. However, it is important to note that this is an imaginative slogan and may not reflect imaginativeness that makes it distinctive. As such, the company might face legal hurdles in its effort to register this slogan.