Business Law

Module 5

Issue

Whether the use of ‘R&R’ name by Recovery and Rehabilitation Inc. amounts to an Trademark infringement against Recreation and Relaxation Corporation’s Trademark rights.

Rule

Statutory protection under Federal law. The Trademark Dilution Law offers trademark protection under the Lanham Act of 1946 as amended by the Federal Trademark Dilution Act and the Trade Dilution Revision Act. The law hence protects registered trademarks from the use by unauthorized businesses.

Application

Federal and state trademark laws offer protection for the use of a registered trademark by its owner and prevent other parties from using the same trademark in their businesses. The Trade Dilution Revision Act creates liability for trademark infringement on businesses that adopt a similar or an identical trademark to another business’s trademark, whether intentionally or unintentionally. The use of a trademark belonging to another business amounts to trade infringement. A claim on trademark infringement, according to TDRA, is substantial if the plaintiff business can show that the defendants have used its mark or uses a substantially similar trademark in their business and that such acts have the potential of confusing customers. Notably, trademark protection is valid even when the goods offered by the two companies are non-competing and are unlikely to confuse.

The use of the R&R name by recovery and rehabilitation Inc. may potentially confuse Recreation and Relaxation customers by making them think that the medical supplies and equipment are produced by Recreation and Relaxation Corporation. And even though it doesn’t confuse customers given the fact that the two companies offer distinctively different goods with no potential competition, the TDRA protects this trademark from use by Recovery and Rehabilitation Inc. Recreation and Rehabilitation Corporation can thus institute a claim for trademark infringement and demand for injunction on Recovery and Rehabilitation Inc. from using the R&R name. Even though, Recovery and Rehabilitation has registered the trademark, it is just and hence appropriate that the first registrant or user of the trademark retains it since changing the name may prejudice its business activities whereas there will be less or no prejudice on Recovery an Rehabilitation Inc. since it has just started using the trademark.

Conclusion

The use of the R&R name by Recovery and Rehabilitation is trademark infringement, and thus Recreation and Relaxation Corporation has a valid claim against it for liability. Notably, even though the letters can be considered as acronyms of both companies’ names, the first company that has used the name for some substantial time will use it hence an injunction upon Recovery and Rehabilitation Inc. and hence deregistration of this trademark as relates to them. When both trademarks are registered, determination on the first-come-first-serve basis will be appropriate.