Comments on: Google Says: “We Shun the ® Because, Let’s Face It, We Have the Money to Crush Infringers All Day Long.” http://www.yourtrademarkattorney.com/blog/google-trademark/ Trademark Registration & Litigation Articles Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:31:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: D.J. http://www.yourtrademarkattorney.com/blog/google-trademark/#comment-265 D.J. Sat, 12 Feb 2011 11:07:26 +0000 http://www.yourtrademarkattorney.com/blog/?p=212#comment-265 Reason that large global companies like Google choose to use the TM instead of the (R) online (or for global products/services) is that in some contries if you use the (R) without your trademark being registered in that country, you risk problems with the laws in that particular country. To avoid this problem, global companies go ahead and register in the U.S. and other countries of interest to obtain the protections of federal trademark registration, but choose to use TM marking to play it safe around the world. Reason that large global companies like Google choose to use the TM instead of the (R) online (or for global products/services) is that in some contries if you use the (R) without your trademark being registered in that country, you risk problems with the laws in that particular country. To avoid this problem, global companies go ahead and register in the U.S. and other countries of interest to obtain the protections of federal trademark registration, but choose to use TM marking to play it safe around the world.

]]> By: Dan http://www.yourtrademarkattorney.com/blog/google-trademark/#comment-29 Dan Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:52:59 +0000 http://www.yourtrademarkattorney.com/blog/?p=212#comment-29 Morris, I enjoy your blog. Note that the use of the TM notice puts the world on notice of the user's claim to trademark rights and is evidence that can be used to prevent others from claiming they adopted the same or a similar mark “in good faith” and therefore entitled to concurrent use registration, is evidence against the innocent infringer defense, and is evidence in support of a reverse confusion claim. All are very useful absent a federal registration. On the flip side, indiscriminate use of the TM notice [that is, on words, phrases, logos, etc. that are not used as trademarks] exposes the user to claims of bad faith, unclean hands, etc. In short, there are legal uses of the TM notice. Morris,

I enjoy your blog.

Note that the use of the TM notice puts the world on notice of the user’s claim to trademark rights and is evidence that can be used to prevent others from claiming they adopted the same or a similar mark “in good faith” and therefore entitled to concurrent use registration, is evidence against the innocent infringer defense, and is evidence in support of a reverse confusion claim. All are very useful absent a federal registration.

On the flip side, indiscriminate use of the TM notice [that is, on words, phrases, logos, etc. that are not used as trademarks] exposes the user to claims of bad faith, unclean hands, etc.

In short, there are legal uses of the TM notice.

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