[STiJunki]

I forget how the saying goes...something like " imitation is the sincerest form of flattery " lol I think it looks cool but seriously, they could have come up with something else for their logo.

[USNSTI]

Originally Posted by Neanderthal Racing

again, every trademark is fair game when it is used in an completely unrelated market.

I understand the use of the acronym STI being ok ( Sacramento Transportation Inc., Singapore Telephone Inc., Sexually Transmitted Infection ). I just don't see how it can be ok to lift their actual logo itself. I mean at some point Subaru paid someone to design that logo, so I would think they would have some kind of ownership of it.

[Neanderthal Racing]

Originally Posted by USNSTI

I understand the use of the acronym STI being ok ( Sacramento Transportation Inc., Singapore Telephone Inc., Sexually Transmitted Infection ). I just don't see how it can be ok to lift their actual logo itself.

because that's the way trademark law works. i have a registered trademark for my business name; let's call it "conscientious handling system®" for now. we train people. i received a notice from the trademark office that a spoon manufacturer wants to use the same name for their spoon geared to the handicapped.

i didn't bother objecting because i knew the trademark office would determine that there is nothing about the spoon company's use of the name in their narrow market for spoons for the handicapped that will cause any confusion in the mind of one of my potential "conscientious handling system" customers and that is the real question; does the 2nd use of the trademark cause confusion and thus dilute my trademark. in this case the answer is no.

now, if they were doing any kind of training, i would have voiced the objection and probably would have prevailed. btw, i own at least 3 registered trademarks ( ® ), about a dozen TMs and a lot of other intellectual property so i'm pretty confident in the info i'm giving.

also, subaru does not bother to place a ® or a TM on their "sti" or "subaru technica international" logos. failure to give notice of ownership when you use and claim ownership of a logo leaves the logo more open to dispute.

[USNSTI]

We are talking about two different things. You are absolutely right, about the naming of the business, I have no doubt of that. If I name my plumbing company "Celtic Plumbing" and use the Boston Celtics logo, are you saying that is totally legal? Seems fiishy, but then again I am not a lawyer. If you pay an artist $10,000 to design a logo for "conscientious handling system" and the spoon company uses that as well, there is no legal issue there? Wow, crazy laws in this country.

[Neanderthal Racing]

as i said, subaru has the duel problem of not giving notice of ownership and they are using 3 letters in a not-that-uncommon font. having a logo with more unique and original the logo art would help your case.

to illustrate that issue. i had a problem when i registered the trademarks for my proprietary holding method. The trademark office claimed that the words were too generic, i.e. not special enough to claim ownership. i was able to convince them otherwise by having questionaires filled out by our trainees, asking if they had ever heard of the words previously in association with a physical hold (the answer was no) or previous to the training and for how long. we had everybody fill out the questionaire including people who had been doing the program for 20 years. we were able to show what is called "continuous usage" in association with the product or service, which established that i could claim ownership, even if it was generic. a trademark application is basically a negotiation with the trademark office.


had i named the method, the "illustrious virgin hold", it would have been a lot easier.

[Late]

Originally Posted by Neanderthal Racing

because that's the way trademark law works. i have a registered trademark for my business name; let's call it "conscientious handling system®" for now. we train people. i received a notice from the trademark office that a spoon manufacturer wants to use the same name for their spoon geared to the handicapped.

i didn't bother objecting because i knew the trademark office would determine that there is nothing about the spoon company's use of the name in their narrow market for spoons for the handicapped that will cause any confusion in the mind of one of my potential "conscientious handling system" customers and that is the real question; does the 2nd use of the trademark cause confusion and thus dilute my trademark. in this case the answer is no.

now, if they were doing any kind of training, i would have voiced the objection and probably would have prevailed. btw, i own at least 3 registered trademarks ( ® ), about a dozen TMs and a lot of other intellectual property so i'm pretty confident in the info i'm giving.

also, subaru does not bother to place a ® or a TM on their "sti" or "subaru technica international" logos. failure to give notice of ownership when you use and claim ownership of a logo leaves the logo more open to dispute.

interesting. so I wonder if someone decided to sell some merchandise (t-shirts, lanyards, coffee mugs) with the STi logo on it, and nothing else indicating it was related to Subaru or any cars, would Subaru be able to go after them for infringement. and if Subaru did go after them couldn't that person claim it has nothing to do with Subaru, it has to do with a trucking company in Sacramento?

[Neanderthal Racing]

i'm doing a little research. the trademark office has nothing for "subaru technica international" and 14 issuances for "sti".

a google search for subaru technica international produced this.
(subaru.com/logos/guidelines/STiSpecs.pdf)

Effective January 1, 2004 STI Logo Specification...

it is subaru's logo guidelines for sti, for what that's worth.