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Thanks for this great article
Thanks for your comment Loriann Biernacki, have a nice day.
- Ernest Fresta, Staff Member
hello my name is Ruth Carter and I'm a licensed attorney in Arizona and this is your question of the day so somebody asked me they said I went to the USPTO trademark database and I saw a phrase trademark and it had an exclamation point at the end of the phrase what does that mean exactly can I still use the phrase without the exclamation point okay so when you apply for a trademark you have to tell the US Patent and Trademark Office exactly what you're claiming as your trademark which includes things like punctuation sometimes if you want that to be part of your trademark you have to include it and then when you use your trademark you have to use that punctuation every time so whoever this person is who has a phrase like a slogan with an exclamation point always has to use the exclamation point when they use the trademark what does this mean for you are you still allowed to use this phrase well it depends are you using it as a trademark because if you are that could be infringement if your product or service is confusingly similar to what this person who already registered the slogan is using it on but if it's a completely different product or service or if you're just using it as a sentence or a phrase that's not problematic so for example Paris Hilton has a trademark for the phrase that's hot for a couple different categories of products and services that doesn't mean that she's allowed to stop everybody else on the planet from using the phrase that's hot if you are actually talking about hot things so whether you're talking literally or figuratively what it does it stops other people from using that trademark or a confusingly similar one on the same types of products and services that she's using her trademark on so I hope that clarifies things could you use this phrase just as a phrase sure what you can't do is use it as a trademark because if if it's confusingly similar and the only difference between what they're use what they're claiming is their trademark and what you're doing is they have an exclamation point and yours doesn't that's gonna be too similar people are gonna be confused about whose product they're buying so but if you're just talking about it's a phrase that you want to use because it's a good phrase and it just fits the situation that's fine that's not a trademark problem so of course watching this video does not create an attorney-client relationship with any viewer it contains merely legal information not legal advice if you need legal advice go hire somebody I put out new content every week so please subscribe to the channel and until then I will catch up with you later take care
Thanks Vennie your participation is very much appreciated
- Ernest Fresta
About the author
I've studied fluid statics at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston and I am an expert in lagrangian mechanics. I usually feel restless. My previous job was script editor I held this position for 5 years, I love talking about squash and sunbathing. Huge fan of Ginnifer Goodwin I practice rollerblading and collect automobilia.
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