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Trademark Infringement Can Be Based On Sound
A famous example showed that a trademark infringement can be related to the sound of the trademark - it doesn’t have to be a visible issue.
A company created an edible type of dough for kids, known as “Play Dough”. However, huge company and international manufacturer of toys Hasbro had already created and trademarked “PLAY-DOH”. Neither the product or packaging was identical on each product, but Hasbro argued that their trademark had been infringed.
The manufacturers of “Play Dough”, the defendants, argued two points to try and convince the Court that they were not infringing any trademark. Firstly, they said that “PLAY-DOH” lacked distinctive character (distinctive character is a requisite that makes a trademark enforceable). Secondly, they said that “PLAY-DOH” was largely associated with modelling clay, which made it very unspecific, consequently causing it to lose any distinctiveness.
The Court dismissed both of these arguments and ruled in favour of Hasbro’s existing trademark.
It is highly advisable to extensively research existing trademarks as a way of ensuring that you do not infringe any of them. An experienced intellectual property solicitor will help you to protect your own trademarks and avoid infringing existing ones.
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Intellectual Property and Trademark Law our highly complex area - very few solicitors specialize in this area – our team do and offer genuine city quality intellectual property advice at local prices;
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