Use of Generic Words in Business Name

[Cosmic Zamboni]

Still no definitive answer to my question, but I will assume that with all of the various companies with "fidelity" and "advanced" and "liberty" or even "kentucky"in their names, that any of those terms would be fair game as long as a business was not a direct competitor.

[jk]

Still no definitive answer to my question, but I will assume that with all of the various companies with "fidelity" and "advanced" and "liberty" or even "kentucky"in their names, that any of those terms would be fair game as long as a business was not a direct competitor.

there is no precise answer as each situation is dealt with on a case by case basis and only if one mark owner believes their mark is being infringed upon and takes action to defend their mark.

If you are concerned about the generic word itself; no, that is not going to be a basis for a claim, even if in the same market. It is a combination of the entire trademark taken as a whole and whether it causes confusion in the intended market.

You can have

World's best

followed by


Ribs

or chicken

or tuna fish

or haggus


as long as "world's best" has not been claimed as a mark in itself (which it actually has been at least in the pet toy arena) you can put world's best in front of anything and it not be competing with another mark using those same words.


there was a recent issue that raised some eyebrows which was when the Susan B Koman foundation sued for infringement claiming they have exclusive use of "for the cure" in certain sectors. As well she apparently claimed she was the only entity that could use pink in association with cancer as well.

I honestly do not know how that turned out but a quick search for "for the cure" on the TESS website shows there are myriad various "for the cure" registrations and the several I have looked at are not owned by Koman.

[Man_V_Wild]

confusion in the market

Advanced Auto Parts. I would avoid "Advance Automotive Stores" and "Advance Car Stores". Feel good about "Superior Auto Parts"