“Trademark bullying” refers to aggressive tactics by large corporations against individuals or small companies for using terms or phrases a trademark owner considers too similar to its marks. Increasingly, accused infringers are using social media to fight back. The Internet spotlight can create a backlash against overaggressive trademark owners, even if they have legitimate claims. In this special report, we examine this trend as well as nontraditional trademarks, injunctions in trademark cases after eBay, plus ten hot issues in trademark law and how to handle them.
Cease and desist? Tweet!
When Chick-fil-A went after Vermont T-shirt maker Bo Muller-Moore, claiming his Eat More Kale shirts were too similar to its Eat Mor Chikin ad campaign, he considered the tactic trademark bullying and fought back on social media.