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[mikepro1]

If company A has a certain trademark in a class 25, clothing, can company B place the same trademark on promotional items such as t-shirts without infringing company A's trademark?  

Ficticious example: Clothing company Life is Good owns word mark registration in Class 25.  Company B, a travel agency, starts placing Life is Good on t-shirts, caps, etc. to be given out as promo items at tradeshows and corporate fuctions.

Is this considered infringement?

[mikepro]

Why no answer for this one?  Is is too difficult or is it so obvious that you guys think I'm an idiot?

[Isaac]

I don't think you're an idiot.  Your question is reasonable but unanswerable without knowing the marks involved and some more details about the businesses of the two companies.  

Generally speaking, knowing the class of goods is not specific enough because the classes contain goods that might be dissimilar enough to argue against a likelihood of confusion.

Often posters provide fictitious information in hopes of getting a more specific answer.   I usually don't bother analyzing such information because the answer is unlikely to relate to the poster's actual situation.

Sorry I don't have a better answer.

[torgo]

Isaac is completely correct.

The class system, while helpful as a guide, is not the be-all, end-all system for detemining infringement.  

Mike, your best bet would be to call a trademark attorney (all of us from the board are good attorneys) to discuss the situation in detail.

-Anthony

[JSonnabend]

I agree with the essence of Anthony's reply, except that the classification system, in my experience, is almost meaningless in infringement analyses.  Not only are goods in the same class unrelated to one another in many instances, as Isaac points out, but often times goods in different classes are more closely related than two goods in the same class.  Thus, I dont' think the class system acts as much of a guide at all, as Anthony suggest.

Also, one important note.  Anthony states bluntly that "all of us from the board are good attorneys."  I'm not sure why he says that.  I can only go so far as to say that several attorneys active here appear to know their stuff, while other posters clearly don't.  I don't think Anthony has any information beyond what I have, so he's likely overstated things.   Choose your attorney carefully and only after speaking with him in some detail.

- Jeff

[Isaac]

FWIW, I don't currently do any trademark work.

[JSonnabend]

FWIW, I don't currently do any trademark work.

That's funny.  I'd put you in the category of attorneys who apparently know their stuff.  

[Isaac]

My current employer has me doing patent work exclusively.