Intellectual Property of tradename Research Paper

Intellectual Property of tradename - Research Paper Example This paper sought to explain whether or not the fact that Gabby’s surname is Rally gives her the right to use it any way she wishes. The fact that Gabby’s surname is Rally does not give her exclusive right to use it any way she wishes. Thus, for her to use the name as her trademark she has to consider several factors other than the fact that it is her own name. However, Gabby has the right to choose any name for her Pizza business as long as it does not infringe on another person’s trade name. Nonetheless, it should be noted that not every trade name that is similar to an existing trade name may result liability for infringement. In this regard, the law may not prohibit two unrelated businesses from using a similar trade name. However, this may only be the case when the coexistence of the two trade names does not result to any risk of confusion among the public. Thus, this means that two unrelated businesses may be use a similar name as much as the above mentione d condition is upheld. For instance, Gabby operates a pizza business whereas Herman operates a car business. The two businesses are not related in any way. Therefore, on the premises of the fact that two unrelated businesses may use a similar name, Gabby may not be prohibited by the law to use the name her surname, Rally for her pizza business, notwithstanding the fact that Herman’s car business goes by a similar name. However, it is apparent that, her use for the name Rally causes confusion among the public. People end up making their pizza orders using the telephone numbers of Rally motors. This could therefore imply that, even though the name Rally is Gabby’s surname, its use jeopardizes Herman’s car business in one way or another. Thus, in this context, Gabby may not be allowed to use the name Rally in any way she may wish even though it is her surname. This is because the use of her surname for her business infringes Herman’s trade name which has alr eady gained grip in the public domain. For instance, in the case of Google v. American Blind No. 02-05340(Apr. 18, 2007), the court challenged the legality of a program by Google known as AdWords which violated the trademark law by infringing of American Blind’s trademark accusing confusion in the users of search engines as a result (Leslie, 2010). 2. Explain whether or not it matters that Rally is associated with pizza. In the selection of a trade name, it does not always matter whether the trade name is related to the product in question of not. As mentioned earlier, what matters most if whether the name infringes on other established trade names or not. Also, if someone in the same geographical area started to use the trade name long before, matters a lot as well. Thus, as much as Rally is not related to Pizza, this may not act as a constraint towards the use of that name by Gabby. To avoid infringement of someone else’ trade name, it is important to choose a trade name should be distinctive. This therefore implies that the chosen trade name may not in anyway be related to the pr