Tiffany Setting the Standard
Venable LLC, recently posted a summary of the Tiffany vs Costco trademark infringement lawsuit. The full article is worth a quick read. Essentially using “Tiffany” to describe a ring, such as “Tiffany ring” or “Tiffany settings” is just fine. But using Tiffany alone is not. Tiffany® is a registered trademark. The federal judge ordered Costco to pay $19.4 million for trademark infringement and trademark counterfeiting.
So what does this have to do with food and supplement labels? Marketers are creative and always looking for creative romance copy. A good review should look for and identify risky terms.
Take a quick quiz? From this list, which terms are trademarked?
Doritos
Hatch
Cha Cha Cha
Tabasco
Sriracha
Yellowstone
All of them, except Sriracha. Check for yourself at the USPTO.gov trademark search site.
Bottom line – know what the words you use mean; conduct a trademark search; and seek professional help.