Category — trademark

Many business owners produce goods that need to conform to a specific standard or certain quality control measures to qualify for a special designation. For example, a business owner who manufactures electrical cords will need to meet specific standards to pass the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certification. After receiving certification, the business owner may include the UL certification mark on their goods. This certification mark signals to the public that the goods meet certain standards in relation to quality, materials, or mode of manufacture. This is important because some vendors will only accept electrical goods that have been certified by UL. Certification marks can serve other purposes as well.

So what is a certification mark? A certification mark is any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination used by a person other than its owner, to certify regional or other origin, material, mode of manufacture, quality, accuracy, or other characteristics of such person’s goods or services or that the work or labor on the goods or services was performed by members of a union or other organization.

The first requirement of a certification mark, then, is that the mark be a word, name, symbol, or device, or combination of those things, just like a regular trademark.

The second requirement is that the mark is used by a person other than its owner. This means that a person who uses the mark cannot be the person who certifies the goods or services of others. This makes sense because of the inherent conflicts the might occur if the same person who owns the mark and certifies others to use the mark is the same person who uses the mark. For example, if UL produced its own electrical cords, then certified itself to use the certification mark, then UL could exclude others who produce electrical cords from becoming certified and using the mark. Unlike regular trademarks, certification marks are not primarily concerned about avoiding confusion the consumer regarding the source of the goods or services. Instead, a certification mark provides information to the consumer regarding the quality, origin, material, or accuracy of the goods or services upon which the mark is placed. Because this information can be important, as in the case of UL certification, owners of certification marks will license the use of their certification mark to business owners.

As a business owner, then, you may want to see if any certification marks exist for your goods or services and decide whether the cost of certification or licensing is worth the expense. For many goods and services, obtaining the use of a certification mark can be essential.

Suppose that you begin using a trademark in connection with your new business, but you fail to clear the mark first. As a result, another business who owns a federal trademark registration for similar goods or services sends you a letter and demands that you cease-and-desist in your use of the same or similar trademark. What are your options?

The first option is to stop using the mark as demanded. Under federal trademark law, you may be liable for significant damages if you continue to use the mark in violation of the registered trademark owner’s rights. The trademark owner only needs to show, essentially, that he has a valid trademark and he hasn’t given you permission to use it. It’s a bit more complicated than that, but you should know that intent is not an element of trademark infringement. That means that your lack of intent to infringe the mark is irrelevant to the issue of whether or not you infringed or not. Intent only makes a difference in awarding more damages to the trademark owner. If you willfully infringe another’s trademark, then the trademark owner may be entitled to a larger damage award.

Another option is to contact the current trademark owner and ask permission to use the mark concurrently with the trademark owner. The current owner may require you to pay for a license to use the mark, but, if your business and the current owner’s business are geographically far apart, you may be able to persuade the trademark owner to concurrent use of the mark.

A third option includes filing a declaratory action in federal court. As noted in my previous post, a declaratory action does not come without risks. First, you can only file a declaratory action if the trademark owner threatens litigation and even then the court can decline to hear the matter. The advantage, though, is that you get to litigate in your home venue, which reduces your litigation costs.

What option you choose depends on your particular situation. If you receive a cease-and-desist letter, you should contact your attorney who can help you make the right business decision.

The law grants certain rights to an owner of a registered trademark. These rights include the ability to exclude others from using similar marks that are likely to cause confusion with the source of goods and services associated with your mark. As a business owner and owner of a trademark, you have a duty to enforce your mark against ne’er-do-wells and others who wish to trade off of the goodwill built up in your mark. The law also provides remedies for owners whose rights have been infringed.

The most obvious remedy is that of damages. As a trademark owner, you may be entitled to collect money damages from those who use your mark in violation of your rights. Under the Lanham Act, trademark owners may collect actual damages, or the amount of money that they can show the infringer actually damaged the trademark owner’s business, or statutory damages. Statutory damages allow a trademark owner to recover when they have difficulty showing how much they have been actually damaged. This often occurs when infringers fail to keep records of their use of your mark.

Another powerful remedy is injunctive relief. An injunction is an order by the court that either tells someone to stop doing something or tells them to start doing something. In a trademark infringement case, the trademark owner wants the infringer to stop using the mark and asks the court to enter an order to that effect. The standard for obtaining an injunction can be difficult to meet, but, if you can meet it, then an injunction can serve to stop the infringer from further violating your rights. As part of your injunctive relief, you might also ask the court to order the freezing of the infringer’s assets or to order the seizure of the infringing materials. These remedies are not typical, but are available in certain cases.

As a business owner, then, you need to be aware of new startups or existing, related businesses who may want to use your mark for their own purposes. When that occurs, you should be aware of the remedies that you may have available under the law.