Los Angeles Copyright Attorneys & Lawyers

What is a Trademark Infringement Test?

The Trademark Infringement Test determines the likelihood of people confusing two companies with similar marks. If you feel like someone is using your trademark in a way that confuses your customers, there are a few tests to check for Trademark Infringement.

The tests are used as a way to protect the first person who has registered that trademark. The phrase used to decide the outcome is whether there is a "likelihood of confusion" between your business and another. The law is known as the Lanham Act 15 USC1114(a)(1).

There are two main questions that courts ask when testing for Trademark Infringement:

1. Has

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What Is Intellectual Property Law?

Intellectual property law (IP) protects the rights of any person or business who creates artistic work. Artistic work can include music, literature, plays, discoveries, inventions, words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Intellectual property law aims to encourage new technologies, artistic expression, and inventions that all promote economic growth.

Types of Intellectual Property Law

Just like the legal system protects people's physical property rights, it aims to protect people's mental labor, which we call intellectual property. There are several different types of intellectual property.

Copyrights

Copyrights protect any type of expressive art, such as writings, music, motion pictures, architecture, and other original intellectual and artistic expressions. A copyright gives the owner exclusive rights to reprod

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Updated November 5, 2020:

What Does Trademarking Goods and Services Involve?

To protect the intellectual property of your brand in relation to the goods and services you provide, it is important to obtain a trademark or service mark. Trademarking your brand in association with your goods and services gives you exclusive rights to the use of your name and logo in conjunction with these goods and services. This can include words, names, symbols, and designs or a combination of these things that identify your brand.

Obtaining a trademark is relatively simple with a few critical steps:

• Select your trademark or service mark: Create your brand name and image. Your mark should be able to be registered and protected. It should be specific and unique enough to identify th

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What Are Fanciful Trademarks?

Fanciful trademarks are made-up terms invented for the single purpose of functioning as a trademark. They can be either neologisms (words that don't mean anything in the English language) or archaic words that are out of common usage.

A fanciful trademark is distinctive and only has a meaning when used in relation to a specific product. For this reason, fanciful marks are the strongest type of trademarks.

Famous examples of fanciful trademarks include Exxon, Kodak, Pepsi, Clorox, and Xerox.

Understanding the Strength of Trademarks

A term is considered a trademark and receives protection only when it's distinctive. The public needs to able to distinguish the mark associated with your product from the goods of your competitors. The more distinctive a trademark is, the stronger it is.
A mark can fall into

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Service Mark Registration Overview

A service mark registration defends your intellectual property. Your mark must be registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). 

Service mark and trademarks are different. A service mark is used for a business that provides services. A trademark is used for a business that provides products. They can both be called marks. Restaurants use service marks because food is a service. Many businesses choose to use both marks.

Service marks can be many things. Common service marks include:

• Tunes
• Phrases
• Logos
• A

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