Preventative Practices: Dodging Trademark Bullying

Various sticky trademark disputes have been in the news lately. First, there was the dispute between Apple and Proview Technology over the IPAD trademark in China (the dispute was settled on July 2). Then there was the still-ongoing dispute between the United States Olympic Committee and the knitting website Ravelry over the crafters’ use of the term RAVELYMPICS in connection with an Olympics-viewing event. My local newspaper is even getting in on the act, writing about how devastating a trademark dispute can be to small businesses.

So what can you, as a small business owner, do to protect yourself from a trademark dispute? Take some good old-fashioned advice!

• An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Do not choose your business name or other trademarks without making sure that they are available and will not infringe on another company’s marks. This means conducting a thorough search. If you have the budget for it, hire a trademark attorney to obtain and interpret a full search report from a third-party provider. If you don’t have the budget for it, your attorney should at minimum conduct a preliminary check of potentially problematic trademarks in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) database and on the web.

• Don’t cry over spilled milk. If you find that your favorite trademark is already taken, especially if it’s been taken by a company with deep pockets, take a deep breath and bid it farewell. As the examples in the Star Tribune article demonstrate, responding to an allegation of infringement can be financially devastating to a business. It is much better to let it go now and find a new mark that will better differentiate your business from the competition anyway.

• The best defense is a good offense. Register your trademark as soon as possible. If you are operating only in one state, register it with the state. If you are operating in more than one state, register it federally with the PTO.

• Know thyself. Keep good records regarding how you have used your trademark and in what markets. Keep copies of every advertisement you run in a file for each trademark you own (for electronic advertising, keep a record of what trademarks you have advertised in what geographic areas, your view rate, and your and click-through rate). Keep copies of complimentary (or not-so-complimentary) letters and emails from outside your immediate geographic region so that you know who has heard of your company and where they live. Keep track of where and when you have made sales. These records can be vital evidence of your geographic scope of ownership in the event of a dispute.

Follow these tips and make sure you have a great trademark attorney on your side, and you may be able to avoid disputes altogether. If not, you will be in good shape going into any disputes.