Business Names & Slogan Trademark & Legal Considerations 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does 'trade dress' refer to in the context of brand protection?
- The official uniforms employees must wear
- The overall visual appearance and design elements that identify a brand's products (Correct answer)
- The legal documents filed during trademark registration
- The terms and conditions of a franchise agreement
Correct answer: The overall visual appearance and design elements that identify a brand's products
Trade dress refers to the visual characteristics of a product or its packaging that signify source, such as the distinctive shape of a Coca-Cola bottle.
Question 2: What is the 'principal register' at the USPTO?
- A list of all rejected trademark applications
- The primary federal register providing the strongest trademark rights and legal presumptions (Correct answer)
- A directory of pending trademark applications only
- The register used exclusively for foreign trademarks
Correct answer: The primary federal register providing the strongest trademark rights and legal presumptions
The Principal Register provides the highest level of trademark protection, including a legal presumption of ownership and the right to use the ® symbol.
Question 3: What is required for a business slogan to qualify for trademark protection?
- It must rhyme and be fewer than five words
- It must be distinctive and function as a source identifier for goods or services (Correct answer)
- It must be registered with the FTC before the USPTO
- It must be used in at least 10 states before filing
Correct answer: It must be distinctive and function as a source identifier for goods or services
For trademark protection, a slogan must be distinctive enough that consumers associate it with a specific source, rather than being generic praise or description.
Question 4: What is 'trademark dilution' under U.S. law?
- The weakening of a famous mark's distinctiveness through unauthorized use, even without consumer confusion (Correct answer)
- The process of canceling an unused trademark
- The loss of trademark rights after a company is sold
- Using a trademark in a different industry than registered
Correct answer: The weakening of a famous mark's distinctiveness through unauthorized use, even without consumer confusion
Trademark dilution protects famous brands like Rolex or Tiffany from uses that blur or tarnish their reputation, even when no consumer confusion exists.
Question 5: What must a business do to maintain a federal trademark registration between the 5th and 6th year after registration?
- File a Section 15 Affidavit of Incontestability
- File a Section 8 Declaration of Continued Use (Correct answer)
- Pay a maintenance fee with no paperwork required
- Reapply for the trademark as if new
Correct answer: File a Section 8 Declaration of Continued Use
Between the 5th and 6th year after registration, trademark owners must file a Section 8 Declaration proving the mark is still in use to maintain registration.
Question 6: Which doctrine allows a company to use another's trademark to refer to the trademark owner's own product?
- Fair use doctrine — nominative use (Correct answer)
- First sale doctrine
- Doctrine of equivalents
- Reverse confusion doctrine
Correct answer: Fair use doctrine — nominative use
Nominative fair use allows references to another company's trademark (like saying 'compatible with iPhone') when it's the only reasonable way to refer to that product.
Business Names & Slogan Trademark & Legal Considerations 2
What does 'trade dress' refer to in the context of brand protection?