Trademark laws: protecting both consumers and companies

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by: David Johnson
Word Count: 481
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 Time: 12:45 AM

There are hundreds of companies in the market. After globalization there are several hundred more added to that number. In this type of open market economy you will find several companies selling similar types of goods. Then how can a customer differentiate between companies.

Not all companies maintain same quality standards. Moreover, customers are sometimes obsessed with the quality of one particular company. Whether their obsession is justified or not is a different issue altogether in this context. However, the main question is how he is supposed to distinguish between companies.

Earlier there used to be pirates in the South China Sea and in several other big seas and oceans. Now one company duplicates the product of another to increase their market share. However, the nature of piracy has changed. As a result for convenience companies use a symbol, word, or a phrase to distinguish itself from the others. This symbol, word or phrase is known as trademark.

In United States Patent and Trademark Office (U.S.P.T.O) is the organization where an U.S organization has to register its trademark. Trademarks registered in similar organizations of any other nation will have the same wightage in USA. There are two types of trademark:

•    ® - This trademark indicates registry with the government body and gives more legal cover for the company. The company also gets advantage to sue an offender in future.
•    ™ - This is not registered trademark but it is in the process of becoming registered.

 The concept of trademark is that wing of law which deals in intellectual property. We have become habituated with certain famous trademarks. For example Coco Cola, the blue and white logo of BMW cars can be cited as an example.

There are measures taken at government level to protect trademark dilution. The concept simply means that the trademark doesn’t remain unique. Genericization, tarnishing and blurring can result in Dilution of trademark. This is taken very seriously by the companies. This is because it might create a negative image in the minds of the consumers.This is where a trademark lawyer becomes indispensable.

There are laws to protect product dilution. This type of law focuses on two aspects-

•    Protecting the consumers.
•    Protecting the companies.

For example the fourth largest economy in term of GDP- Florida too has many trademark related issues. Although tourism brings the most revenues, however there are trademark related issues too. In case of queries contact Florida trademark attorney to get you case evaluated.

About the Author

David Johnson, a contributor to legal journals, offers helpful tips on the right approach to legal issues, like guiding you to about trademark law. In case you require an advice from Florida trademark attorney on any trademark related issue. He would suggest you the website of www.addmg.com which would be of great help.

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