PornHub owner MindGeek is threatening a kebab shop in NYC with trademark infringement::If you’ve been listening to the Vergecast you know the standard for trademark infringement is “likelihood of confusion,” and while it’s true the Hub is known for ⚫️🟠, something tells me the folks walking into Doner Haus aren’t confused about what’s on the menu. Full story in Chelsea News, a hyperlocal NYC news site, via Verge pal Alexandra Roberts.

  • crypticthree@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    A trademark is always connected to the specific goods or services sold to customers with that trademark. You can’t register a word, phrase, symbol, or design as a trademark without specifically identifying the goods or services being used. Your trademark isn’t limited to one good or service. It can be used with many different goods or services, and include both goods and services.

    Although the determination of whether you have goods or services can be confusing, it’s critical that you make the correct identification. Think about it this way: What do customers purchase from you? An actual physical product that bears your trademark? Or do they hire you to perform an activity for them? If it’s products, you have goods. If it’s activities, you have services.

    For example, a registered trademark for the name A Good YarnTM for a bookstore would prevent another company from registering the name A Good YarnTM for another bookstore.

    By being specific about the goods or services your trademark represents in your registration, you clearly identify the scope of use. You can legally prevent others from using the same or a similar trademark for related goods or services without your permission. Applying for more goods or services than you currently use, or intend to use, is likely to cause your application to be denied. We may inquire as to whether the identification you select accurately identifies your goods or services.

    https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/scope-protection

    • elscallr@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s not quiet so cut and dry. The law is written to cover 90% but this isn’t a criminal matter, it’s a civil one, and civil suits are always decided in courtrooms. If I created a weed dispensary and called it Instant Pot and stylized my logo like that of a popular countertop pressure cooker they’d be well within their rights to sue despite being wildly different industries.

      • DanTilDawn@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Where does parody fit in? There are a lot of examples of restaurants like this and all seem to be based on a play on words/tongue in cheek parody of pornhub due to the names of their businesses, however they are not using the name pornhub at all just the style of text inside the orange and black pill

    • lud@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Reminds me how McDonald’s lost their Big Mac trademark in the EU.

      They had registered it as a restaurant name among others. So the EUIPO invalidated their big mac trademark, when they tried to get a restaurant chain called Supermac to change name. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2019/01/16/how-mcdonalds-lost-its-big-mac-in-europe/

      It appears that the trademark was at least partly restored earlier this year, but I am not sure. I’m no trademark lawyer.