Also known as: service mark · service-mark · trademark
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A word, name, symbol, or device used to identify and distinguish the services of one provider from those of others.
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Spectrum Financial applies to register the servicemark Bankers Be Damned for its advisory services. The PTO refuses registration on the ground that the mark disparages bankers. Spectrum challenges the refusal in court. The court holds that the denial constitutes unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination because the mark constitutes private speech.
Summit Bank has used the servicemark Summit Services for banking services for many years without objection. Southland Foods later claims infringement based on a similar mark for food delivery services. Summit Bank raises a laches defense. The court considers whether the delay in bringing suit bars the claim.
Starlight Media operates a platform that hosts user-uploaded videos containing the servicemark Southland Foods for catering services. Southland Foods sues Starlight Media for contributory infringement. The court examines whether Starlight Media had knowledge of the infringing uses and materially contributed to them.
Sabrina Shah operates a consulting business under the servicemark Summit Bank Advisors. Summit Bank sues for infringement and seeks a permanent injunction. The court applies the traditional four-factor test to determine whether equitable relief is warranted.
Steven Silva, a Pennsylvania resident, registers the servicemark Starlight Media for streaming services on a website accessible nationwide. A California company sues Silva in California federal court for infringement. The court analyzes whether Silva's interactive website contacts satisfy the purposeful availment requirement for personal jurisdiction.
Selena Singh writes a critical blog post about financial services and prominently displays the servicemark Spectrum Financial in her commentary. Spectrum Financial sues for infringement. The court evaluates whether Singh's use qualifies as fair use under the transformative-use factors.
Yes. The Supreme Court has held that trademarks constitute private speech rather than government speech. A statutory bar on registering disparaging marks therefore amounts to viewpoint discrimination that fails strict scrutiny.
…State); Trade-Mark Cases , 100 U. S. 82 (1879) (Congress cannot regulate internal commerce and thus may not establish national trademark registration). In United States v. E. C. Knight Co. , 156 U. S. 1 (1895), this Court held that mere attempts to monopolize the manufacture of sugar could not be regulated pursuant to the…