3 ms·
IANAL, but trademark are different than patents. If this were a patent issue that poster could be prior art. However, Chick-fil-A does have a trademark on "Eat
by lancefisher 13y ago
IANAL, but trademark are different than patents. If this were a patent issue that poster could be prior art. However, Chick-fil-A does have a trademark on "Eat mor chickin", and that's what matters.
In fact if there had been a trademark on "eat more corn, oats, and rye" which I highly doubt there was, it has likely fallen out of use. You can trademark old marks that have not been in use for a while. I met a local trademark attorney that did just this with an old beer brand, that he is now selling a craft beer under.
- eurleif 13y agoBut perhaps the prior use could help to demonstrate that "eat more ..." is just a generic statement, and so the "eat mor chikin" trademark shouldn't be applied so broadly?
- mpyne 13y agoYou can trademark generic statements as well, as long as it remains notable within the business field.
- eurleif 13y agoBut the trademark is on "eat mor chikin", not "eat more". IANAL, but the article gave me the impression that the USPTO has some discretion in determining how much similarity makes a violation.
- mpyne 13y agoYes, that's just it, it's practically all subjective. You don't have to copy every word for it to be a trademark infringement either. Personally I think he was lucky to have gotten Chik-Fil-A off of his back in 2006 because the slogan similarities are stunning, but then again I've actually seen Chik-Fil-A advertising for years before this.