QUESTION

Trademark Infringement

Asked on Sep 16th, 2013 on Intellectual Property - Alabama
More details to this question:
I use a closure for a bracelet that I make and sell that is called a lucky elephant button by the company that I purchase them from and in my description I say that the bracelet closure is a lucky elephant button. If someone owns the trademark "The Lucky Elephant" as their business name where they sell jewelry, am I infringing upon their trademark?
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1 ANSWER

Intellectual Property Attorney serving Manchester, NH at Hayes Soloway P.C.
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A good trademark attorney could not give you a direct answer to this question here for a few reasons. First, this forum does not provide the opportunity for you to feed us sufficient facts to make a determination. Second, a bad answer can create liability for us, even if you never pay us. And third, a proper determination probably requires more time than most attorneys want to donate. I mention this only because if you need surgery, you don't expect Web MD to resolve your medical issue, and similarly, if you are facing a litigation issue, you should not expect a legal website Q&A page to resolve your legal issues. Trademark infringement is a legal question that is really based on one issue - is the consumer confused into believing there is possibly a relationship between two distinct businesses? If your use of the other company's registered trademark is likely to cause or does cause consumers to think your button comes from the trademark owner, you may be infringing their trademark. That question is not the sole question - defenses may exists and there are alternative ways to arrive at infringement - but it lies at the nexus of infringement analysis. Good luck
Answered on Sep 17th, 2013 at 9:08 AM

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