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[Kyle Peterson]

Hello everyone,
Question one:
 Recently, I was contacted by an advertising agency that wanted to purchase a large amount of product for a client of theirs.  However, the agency was looking in a catalog from 1994 and the product they were inquiring about was from a different company with partially the same name as us.  After further research at the PTO website, I discovered the company in this catalog was established in 1995 and abondoned in 1998 (dead).  My question is, would our company be able to recreate the product, a t-shirt, assuming the 1994 company is no-longer in production and/or their trademark is dead?

Question two:
(the following variables for the company names just represent the similariteis/differences in the names. I.e, the "X" variable stands for the same word)

 A company contacted me recently stating "X Y" company has been established since 1996.  The company that contacted me was "X A".  Our company name is "X Z" but in the same business (same type of good) as "X A".  They did not legally threaten me during this contact, they just informed us it has been established.
I quickly searched the PTO website for both "X Y" and "X A" (remember, "X Y" is what they have claimed is an established company, and "X A" is the company name they contacted me under).  After some searches, it turns out "X Y" was never/is not a registered/pending trademark.  However, "X A" is registered and states the goods they provide are the same as "X Y" would be.
I should mention the difference in names:
In "X Y", the Y stands for Clothing.
In "X Z" (our company), the Z stands for Apparel
In "X A", the A stands for something unrelated to either of the above.
The X's in all of the above represent the same word.

So, my question is, should I still be able to obtain a trademark for our comapny ("X Z") if "X  Y" does not legally exist?

Thank you for reading this, and I know it probably sounds confusing.
Any advice/guidance is highly appreciated.  Feel free to ask any questions if something needs clarification.

Thanks again,
-Kyle

[Dariush]

To help clarify Kyle's 2nd question:

If there is a registered company named "Dove Universal" that makes clothing for men and women, can a new company named "Dove Apparel" be TMed and also provide clotrhing for men and women?

Note: "Dove Universal" is the registered name and all logos include the word "Universal"

-Dariush
(I am the VP of Kyle's Company so I would like to know the answer as well)

[Isaac]

An answer about confusing trademarks based on anything other than the actual marks is useless because these questions are very fact specific and the hypo answer won't apply to the actual situation.  

I wish I had a better answer for you.

[JSonnabend]

You'll need to talk directly to a TM attorney with the specific facts of your case (not hypothetical facts) to get useful guidance.

- Jeff