The following is an edited transcript of my video Trademark Tips for Journalists.
Journalists consistently struggle with some of the nuance, terminology and language of trademark law. This is a challenge and somewhat upsetting when I’m trying to teach law students about proper terminology, concepts and issues, and the stories that their friends ask them about because they know they’re studying trademarks.
Following are a few tips about trademarks for journalists:
- You have to be very precise about the language, about what the status of something is, and what it means.
- Having a trademark doesn’t mean that you have a trademark registration—it doesn’t even necessarily mean that you have a trademark application.
- Having a trademark application or an application to register a trademark doesn’t mean that you have a registered trademark—it just means that you have an application. That application might get denied, and until it’s registered, it could be challenged, it could be denied, and it doesn’t enjoy all the benefits of a registration.
- You don’t “trademark” something. You “apply to register” something with the USPTO, and then it hopefully becomes a registered trademark.
These differences may sound nitpicky, but they have very different meanings. If you don’t use the appropriate language, it muds the story and it can be misleading. Be careful about the language, be careful about the actual status.
Is it a common law trademark, meaning that there’s no registration of it? Is it a pending trademark application? Is it a registered trademark? Who was it registered by? Is it being challenged at the USPTO?Is it being challenged or litigated in court? Was there a threat to go to court or is something actually filed and pending in court?
All of these things have significant meanings and differences that are important in the world of trademark law. I understand that it’s not easy to write a story about a legal subject, but it is important to get it right and accurate. I have responded to and helped many journalists over the years provide information or untangle a complex trademark issue. If you are a journalist and have any questions, feel free to reach out to me, because I think it’s important that we get it right so that the readers, followers, viewers, or the listeners get it right so that the students who are learning about this subject get it right.
