Re: Re: Re: Re: Are company names/logos protected after they go out of business?

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Are company names/logos protected after they go out of business?

Comments:
: : : : : I want to use the phrase, "Bell System experience" in my company signs using colors that were used by a former Bell company. That company went out of existence (under that name, anyhow) in the 1984 consent decree breaking up the Bell System. It has undergone two name changes since. Can I use that phrase? : : : : : If someone wanted to establish a "Woodward & Lothrop", "Montgomery Ward", "Packard" or "Pan Am", since those entities no longer exist, would there be any basis for a suit? : : : : Dear Jack Webb, : : : : If fully abandonded I think there is freedom of use. The problem is that the bigger they are or were, the greater the chance of residiual rights existing. : : : : If you are ready to pay lawyers to prove that you are right if challenged, more power to you. : : : : Why not just start something clean? : : : : M. Arthur Auslander : : : : Auslander & Thomas-Intellectual Property Law Since 1909 : : : : 505 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018 : : : : 212-594-6900, fax 212-244-0028, aus@auslander.com : : : : ELAINE's Workshop® : : : : E arly L egal A dvice I s N ot E xpensive(sm) : : : I appreciate your advice. I reasoned that since "Bell System" was never an actual company name, but was a general term referring to the pre-divestiture phone monopoly of AT&T and its regional companies taken together, it would be easier to stay clear of claims. No single company, after all, could say "We are/were the Bell System or Bell Telephone." The Bell System, then, has not been in existence for 18 years. : : : Well, just my unprofessional take on it. I'm a technician, not a lawyer. I wonder: would there be any case law on protection of "generic industry terms", such as this one, as opposed to actual corporate names? : Dear Jack Webb, : In short if you screw up you pay in heavy legal fees. Elaine's Workshop® : M. Arthur Auslander : Auslander & Thomas-Intellectual Property Law Since 1909 : 505 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018 : 212-594-6900, fax 212-244-0028, aus@auslander.com : ELAINE's Workshop® : E arly L egal A dvice I s N ot E xpensive(sm)

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