Trademark v. Corporate Name

Subject: Re: Trademark v. Corporate Name

Comments:
: While I practice in patent law, my memory of some particulars of TM law is fuzzy. If someone has a federal TM granted would he potentially be able to stop someone from using a similar name for a valid state corporation/[and/or] sue for damages? The names in question have in fact been confused by consumers and the services do "collide" in the market place. The first use in commerce of the TM predates the date of state incorporation. My sense is that the use of a validly incorporated state corporate name could be infringing under the Lanham Act due to the supremecy clause, and I think there was even a case on point about this in my law school trademark class, but it was too long ago to remember. : Thanks.

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