Intellectual Property Update


More Information about the Intellectual Property Group		Issue 9, December, 2003
© 2003 Bose McKinney & Evans LLP Indianapolis Downtown 2700 First Indiana Plaza 135 North Pennsylvania St. Indianapolis, IN 46204 (317) 684-5000 Indianapolis North 600 East 96th St., Suite 500 Indianapolis, IN 46240 Washington, D.C. 700 N. One Lafayette Centre, 1120 20th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 www.boselaw.com	Can I Use Another Party's Trademarks in my Advertising? Clients often wonder if it is okay to refer to another party’s common law or registered trademark in their advertising. There are many reasons that a company may want to reference another party’s trademark in its advertising, including (i) to compare its product to the competitor’s, (ii) to criticize the competitor’s product, or (iii) to inform customers that its products can be used in conjunction with or as a replacement for the competitor’s. It is lawful to use another party’s trademark in advertising as long as that use does not confuse consumers and no false claims are made. The purpose of trademark law is to protect consumers against confusion as to the source or sponsorship of goods and services in the marketplace. The public has the right to be protected from confusion and deception, as well as the right to information that allows them to make informed choices about the products and services they purchase. Therefore, a balance must be struck between a trademark owner’s right to protect the goodwill symbolized by his trademark and a competitor’s right to make truthful representations about its own products and competing products in its advertising. LEARN MORE about the guidelines to observe when using another party’s trademark Parasitic IP - An Intellectual Property Audit is Just What the Doctor Ordered Many companies commit large amounts of capital to the development of inventions, which become new products and processes. Ensuring adequate protection in the form of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets is a constantly evolving process. We live in a knowledge-based economy and intellectual property (IP) is a crucial and ever growing component of many company’s assets. However, not all intellectual property is worth protecting. Continuing to pay maintenance fees on patents and trademarks that are no longer valuable is a waste of precious resources. The unused intellectual property becomes a parasite eating away at a company’s intellectual property budget. On the other hand, trying to decide what to protect and what not to protect can often be a difficult task. One way to make this task easier is to have an Intellectual Property Audit performed. An IP Audit can vary in form and scope based on the specific needs of each company. LEARN MORE about the IP Audit

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