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Q. Why are trademarks
protected as trademarks, including the TRUCKADS®
brand name as one word and TRUCK ADS® as two words?
Trademarks are protected for three major reasons.
1. Trademark laws help companies create a brand
so consumers can be assured they are purchasing
the same product or service from the same company
every time.
2. Trademark laws give an incentive for businesses
to produce quality products and services under their
brand name. Companies are assured that consumers
will look for their products and services with their
trademark if they consistently make quality goods
or services.
3. Trademark laws discourage unscrupulous behavior
and enrichment by other companies who prey on other
companies who market a successful product and then
sell an inferior product or service using a confusingly
similar trademark or brand name.
Q. How long will TRUCK ADS, LLC own our trademarks,
service marks and trade names?
Trademark rights can last forever in the United
States. In the US, registered trademarks are valid
for six years from the date of registration, and
can be renewed as long as the mark is used. All
of our service marks and trademarks are now incontestable
pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1065.
Q. What is trademark infringement?
You may not use a trademark unless the owner has
licensed the trademark to you or otherwise given
you expressed permission to use the mark. In most
circumstances, if you use a trademark without permission,
you are committing trademark infringement.
"Likelihood of Confusion" is the test for trademark
infringement both under the (federal) Lanham Act
and at common law. The plaintiff in trademark infringement
cases are not required to prove that the infringer
acted intentionally. Federal dilution laws also
protect trademark owners against unauthorized use
of someone's mark on non-competing goods even when
the goods and services are not related.
Q. What are the penalties for trademark infringement?
Under the (federal) Lanham Act, the remedies for
trademark infringement include:
1. injunctive relief,
2. an accounting for profits,
3. damages, including treble damages when appropriate,
4. attorney's fees, and
5. court costs.
These remedies can be cumulative. A plaintiff may
recover not only the defendant's profits, but also
damages. Both damages and profits can be adjusted
by the court to actual proven damages to three times
that demonstrated, and profits to an amount the
court finds appropriate. The Lanham Act also provides
that the court may order the destruction of "all
items and products" in the defendant's possession
which bear the infringing trademark.
The Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1984, 18 U.S.C.A.
2320 defines certain forms of trademark infringement
as "trafficking in counterfeit goods", made punishable
by up to 5 years imprisonment and a $250,000.00
fine.
The median cost for trademark cases that go all
the way to trial was estimated to be $128,000.00
in 1996, which means half the cases cost more!
Q. When does TRUCK ADS, LLC take action against
trademark infringers?
TRUCK ADS, LLC actively, aggressively and successfully
enforce their intellectual property rights for the
TRUCK ADS® and TRUCKADS® trademark to the fullest
extent of the law. TRUCK ADS, LLC takes action against
trademark infringers who have attempted to misappropriate
forms of the TRUCK ADS® and TRUCKADS® marks, including
misappropriation for use as Domain Names.
The owners of TRUCK ADS, LLC have successfully enforced
their rights against literally hundreds of different
infringers.
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