Trademarks and Local Business: A CASE STUDY, Law School Style

Professors in university love to ask hypothetical questions. In business school, it always involves questions about widgets. In law school, it always involves questions about Company X and Company Y or a family whose names are Abby, Bob, Christine, and Dave. The reasons law school professors do this is because usually the questions are based on real life facts, and the names of the parties involved were changed so as not to embarrass anyone (or get in potential legal trouble!).

I have a hypothetical question today that illustrates why Trademarks are so valuable to local businesses.

QUESTION:

“So Awesome Plumbing” is a local plumbing business in Anytown, Florida. Bob Barker owns So Awesome Plumbing, and it has been serving Anytown for over 15 years. Bob and his company have a great reputation around town. His business has increased over the years by word of mouth and So Awesome Plumbing’s reputation for being reliable. Bob never gets around to trademarking his business.
“Really Awesome Plumbing” is a state wide plumbing business, with locations in 6 different cities in Florida. A few months ago, “Really Awesome Plumbing” decided to open an office in Anytown. The first thing “Really Awesome” does is begin a heavy marketing campaign to build up their business.

Unfortunately, “Really Awesome Plumbing” has a very similar logo to “So Awesome Plumbing”. Bob Barker starts getting calls from past and current customers congratulating him on his slick new marketing campaign. After the 15th call in a single week, Bob Barker gets sick of the phone calls. Bob begins to worry that people might think this new company, “Really Awesome”, is actually “So Awesome”!
Bob Barker wants to stop “Really Awesome Plumbing” from running these confusing advertisements in his local area of Anytown, Florida.

Please explain what Bob Barker’s best course of action is.

ANSWER:

Bob needs to get a trademark in his business name. Specially, a Florida state-level trademark. If Bob applies for a trademark and receives it, he has the right to demand that “Really Awesome” stop marketing in a manner that confuses people between the two plumbing companies.
However, Bob is in a tough situation. If “Really Awesome” has already trademarked their own name, Bob probably can’t stop them from marketing.

The best-case scenario for Bob is:

1. He applies for and obtains a trademark for his business, “So Awesome Plumbing”
2. “Really Awesome Plumbing” hasn’t trademarked their business name yet.
3. Bob, with the strength of his trademark behind him, successfully negotiates with “really Awesome” to cease and desist their marketing activities in Anytown, Florida.

The moral of this story for a local business? It is vital to trademark your business name as soon as possible to legally protect your business from unfair competition.

Consider a state-level trademark for your local business.  It’s cheap, simple, effective, and the benefits far outweigh any reasons someone might have not to register!  The Moon Law Group is happy to provide all local businesses in the Brandon area with Trademark registration services.  Contact us today to learn more.