Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Jp]

Ref. , . .

A. Trademarks (TM)  
Federal Trademark Act  
United States Patent and Trademark Office


" trademarks exist only with respect to some commercial activity  
trademarks have no set lifespan (first time for 5 years, renewals for 10 years)  
can lose a trademark by not using it or not protecting it (typically 2 years) "

Does Internet use, ( e-mail ), constitute use ?

 

[gretel92]

I would think that depends on the nature of your e-mail. If, for example, you are simply e-mailing the name back and forth with co-workers/friends/etc. on a non-commercial, in-house basis, that doesn't really constitute use. If, however, you regularly use e-mail as an advertising medium (e.g., informative e-mail blasts sent to potential customers), that's a very different story.

I believe that if someone challenges you for a trademark based on the notion that you don't use it commercially, you would have to prove it's use (with its mark) in the public domain. Basically, you'd have to show the mark's value to you and/or your business and that you demonstrate its value through regular public use/communication.

I'm not sure from your original post if you meant that your only use was via e-mail. I would assume that a Web site that clearly represents your trademark would go a good distance toward showing use -- though parameters such as number of hits on your site, marketing of said site, etc., may come into play if there is a serious challenge of the mark.

[JSonnabend]

The use must be a trademark use in interstate commerce to qualify (and maintain) federal trademark protection.

"Trademark use" is any use of a name, logo, etc. that serves to identify a source of goods or services.  In relation to goods, the mark generally has to be used on the goods themeselves, although certain "point of sale" materials (which may include on-line sales materials in some instances) can also qualify.  For services, advertisements for the services generally qualifies as a trademark use.

"Interstate commerce" is pretty easily satisfied these days, especially in the case of advertising on the internet.

though parameters such as number of hits on your site, marketing of said site, etc., may come into play if there is a serious challenge of the mark.

I am aware of no case law to support this statement, and the notion of marketing a site to support tm use on the site makes absolutely no sense to me.

- Jeff