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August 14, 2003
What's In a Name?
Posted by Carole Matthews at 6:08 PM
After five years of litigation Entrepreneur Media won a federal trademark case against Scott Smith, the owner of EntrepreneurPR. Basically, the suit charged Smith with deliberately infringing on Entrepreneur Media's "Entrepreneur" trademark and committing unfair competition. Smith is now appealing the ruling (and the subsequent $670,000 in damages Entpreneur Media was awarded).
Should we all be careful of how we use the word "entrepreneur" now? It seems absurd that any entity could stake claim to the word "entrepreneur," but with this most recent victory, it's likely Entrepreneur Media will continue to keep a sharp eye out for others using the term in a similar manner.
Smith supporter Peter Hupalo, an entrepreneur and author of Thinking Like an Entrepreneur suggests in his Smith support letter that the ruling in this case just might be setting a "dangerous precedent" by allowing larger corporations to claim something as commonplace as a word as proprietary.
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In reference to the 'Entrepeneur' trademark, I have another example: currently filed by BMW is the trademark of MINI. (They already have Mini Cooper(TM) and other such). It has not been fully approved yet, but some people are objecting to such a ubiquitous word being given trademark protection.
My prior understanding of trademark rules is that common words (i.e. Windows) cannot be given protection and I feel strongly that this should remain that way. Just in the automotive market, trademark protection of MINI would presumably mean that you would no longer be able to refer to 'Mini vans' or Mini SUVs although I am guessing. Regardless, it would be a mistake for USPTO to grant Mini to BMW, same as it has made a mistake with 'Entrepreneur'.
Rach
Hi Carole,
If you use the word "Entrepreneur" in the name of your company or to refer to your company, it's something to be concerned about.
Here's one of their newer trademarks:
Entrepreneur Media, Inc. has trademarked the rights to the wordmark "Entrepreneur" with respect to computer networks. Trademark Serial Number 75018382, with goods and services listed as:
---------
IC 035. US 100 101 102. G & S: Advertising and business services, namely, arranging for the promotion of the goods and services of others by means of a global computer network and other computer online services providers; providing business information for the use of customers in the field of starting and operating small businesses and permitting customers to obtain information via a global computer network and other computer online service providers and; web advertising services, namely, providing active links to the websites of others.
--------
Reading that carefully, EMI claims the right to use the word "entrepreneur" exclusively when linking to the websites of others.
Who might that affect? Inc magazine for one.
If a search is done on google.com, the leading search engine, of the keyword "entrepreneur" active advertising hyperlinks links the single word "entrepreneur" (Sponsered Links) are given reading:
Entrepreneur
Inc. Magazine: Expert Advice
& Strategies to Grow Your Business
www.inc.com
So, Inc.com uses the single word 'entrepreneur' as a link to its site. EMI hasn't tried to seriously enforce this mark yet, because it still has about 1 year before it becomes incontestable. But, in a year, it will be interesting to see if EMI prevents inc magazine from using the word as an active hyperlink. Peter
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