Utah Trademark Update - Trademarks-7-3-07
The following trademarks registered this week to Utah companies and individuals:
| Trademark | Company | Location |
| BEAUTIFULLY MODEST | Beautifully Modest, LLC | Orem, UT |
| CELSIUS | C & S Holmes, Inc. | Cedar Hills, UT |
| DIRECTWARE | Direct Mortgage Corporation | Midvale, UT |
| ESSENTIAL SUCCESS | Young Living Essential Oils, LLC | Lehi, UT |
| FOUR POINTE | POINTE PEST CONTROL, LLC | Provo, UT |
| INTERLINKSUPPLY | BRIDGEWATER, Inc. | Salt Lake City, UT |
| MADISON COUNTY & THE UPPER VALLEY | Phone Directories Company, LP; Phone Directories Company Inc.; EP Directory Holdings, LLC | Orem, UT |
| MAKE LIFE BETTER | UNICITY PROPERTIES, Inc. | Orem, UT |
| SEVIER COUNTY | Phone Directories Company, LP; Phone Directories Company Inc.; EP Directory Holdings, LLC | Orem, UT |
| STATEDGE | Jeffrey L. Stowell, Individual | Salt Lake City, UT |
| THE BEST THERE IS | BROWNING Corporation | Morgan, UT |
| THE EGO DIET | Veracity, LLC | Alpine, UT |
| THUNDER EXTREME | KING'S OUTDOOR WORLD, LLC | Mt. Pleasant, UT |
| TIMBIA | Timbia Investments, LLC | Alpine, UT |
| TORTILLERÍA DEL AMANECER | Smith's Food & Drug Centers, Inc. | Salt Lake City, UT |
| TOYSHARE | Toyshare, Inc. | Draper, UT |
| Vital Test | Brian S Treu, Individual | Lehi, UT |
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Backyard Greens, LLC | Orem, UT |
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Toyshare, Inc. | Draper, UT |
Rand,
I've seen a few occurences of similar examples in your trademark updates and I'm really confused. How is it possible for Phone Directories to trademark "Sevier County" or "Madison County"? Will they actually be able to enforce their trademark? Can they go to those counties and require them to pay a royalty to continue calling themselves their own name? I think it's pretty wacked that a company can trademark the name of a county that has been around for over 100 years.
By the way, I REALLY enjoy that you post this and the patent list. I like being able to see this kind of data on Utah, I don't know how much feedback you get on it, but I think you're providing a great service! Keep it up!
- Phil
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Phil,
I agree. It would be very difficult to enforce the trademarks. There is a doctrine in trademark law called functional use. You can use a trademarked term if needed to describe your goods or services, so long as you are not using it to trade off the goodwill of the trademark owner. For example, I can use FORD to tell the public that I sell FORD cars, so long as I do not make it appear that I am affiliated with the company.
I do not think that a Court would enforce the trademarks because the terms are merely descriptive of the location for which the telephone books are used. They obtained the trademarks by filing a 2(f) declaration, which claims that the terms have become distinctive because the company has been using the term exclusively for at least 5 years. However, if another company decides to provide a telephone book for one of these counties, there is a good chance that a Court would rule the term generic (unprotectable) because you need to use the name of the county to describe the area covered by the book. I am actually surprised that the trademark Examining Attorney let these get through.
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