Recently, because of some desperation to sell low-quality goods, there has also been a dramatic increase in the misuse of leading brand names to sell infringing and/or counterfeit goods. The brand names are often used as part of a longer semi-descriptive name of a product on an online retailer site. Use of your mark, sprinkled on webpages, helps internet search engines find this abuser’s page, and these uses are most often illegal.
To read the full text of this post, the second of a multipart series, by Duane Morris patent agent Nicole Candelori and partner Alain Villeneuve, please visit the Duane Morris Fashion, Retail and Consumer Branded Products Blog.