Beware! A number of common words have been registered as trademarks

According to incomplete statistics, common words that have been registered as trademarks include 100%, one, Tetris, yoyo, Organic, Frisbee, airbag, Generic, Brandless, Nologo, N/A, N/B, nobrand, Apple, Chapstick, Band-Aid, polo, Hula Hoop, VELCRO, PINK, VR BOX, Pandora , the, Operation, Material , Durable, and Unicorn .

Looking at this long list is enough to give sellers a headache, but if the list is to be expanded now, will they be about to vomit blood?

Another commonly used word is going to be registered as a trademark, and the beauty category is in danger

In recent months, there have been frequent reports of common words being registered as trademarks, and some sellers have received infringement notices from the platform. Sellers have always been extremely careful in preventing infringement, but they cannot avoid being "infringed", and common word infringement is the most difficult situation for sellers to guard against.

Sellers of cosmetics must be familiar with the term EYELINER , which is translated as "eyeliner". According to a query at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), on April 7 last year, an American company (Lashify, Inc.) filed a trademark application for it. Registration categories: 001, 004 , 006, 050, 051, 052.

At present, the trademark application has been reviewed by the Trademark Office and has entered the public stage. If no one raises an objection during the public stage, the trademark will be secure, but at the same time, the seller will face a crisis.

Obviously, if the rights holder wants to make trouble, the sellers in the beauty category will undoubtedly be the ones who suffer the most. Searching for "EYELINER" on Amazon.com will yield more than 4,000 results. From these links, we can see that the term "EYELINER" is widely used in the titles of various products and in the five-point descriptions.

In fact, according to the USPTO query, there are a total of 6 trademarks related to EYELINER in the United States, but 4 of them have expired. Among the two that are still alive, one was registered and took effect in 2018. The right holder is an intellectual property company located in the UK. Scope of protection: computer hardware, software and peripherals that display three-dimensional virtual images. The other one was applied for by the above-mentioned company Lashify.

The applicant of " EYELINER " is a "big intellectual property owner ". According to its official website, Lashify owns more than 300 patents and trademarks worldwide. In 2020, it accused certain eyelash extension systems, products and components exported to, imported into and sold in the United States of infringing its patent rights , and requested the U.S. International Trade Commission to initiate a 337 investigation .

Judging from this incident, Lashify is very active and strong in protecting intellectual property rights, so sellers must pay attention to the dynamics of this trademark.

These common words have been registered as trademarks, please avoid them

For sellers, the difficulty of infringement issues is often not how to find patents /trademarks, but that some patents/trademarks have been registered by others without their knowledge . In this case, even if they are very careful, they will still fall into the trap .

For example , many people may not realize that the following commonly used words already have rights holders. Once the rights holders come to enforce their rights, it will definitely be a hassle for the sellers. So be sure to avoid them.

Mooncake:

Chinese sellers must be familiar with the word Mooncake, but as early as 2020 it had been registered as a trademark in the United States by a Japanese company , registration categories: 021, 023, 026, 036, 038, protection scope: computer graphics cards, flat-panel display screens, flexible flat-panel displays for computers, high-definition televisions (HDTV), mobile hotspot devices, personal computer tablets, tablet protective cases and protective shells, SIM cards, mobile phone subscription identity module ( SIM ) cards, and smartphone wireless headphones.

Summer:

It is indeed surprising that Mooncake is registered as a trademark, but its scope of application is limited after all. Summer is different. Its scope of application is very wide, especially for summer-related products, which often need to use this word. However, according to the USPTO query, there are as many as 6 "Summer" trademarks in existence , of which two are newly applied. The applicants are both companies in Delaware, USA. The application time is February 2023. The trademark application has been reviewed by the Trademark Office and has entered the public stage . Registration categories: 100, 101.

The other four trademark registrations have all come into effect, the earliest of which was in 1996, with protection scopes for dolls, doll clothing, [doll houses] and doll accessories, and registration categories: 022, 023, 038, 050. The latest one will take effect in 2023, with protection scope concentrated in the service field, and registration categories: 021, 023, 026, 036, 038.

Morandi:

In recent years , Morandi color has suddenly become popular. This high-end color with a decadent and melancholy beauty is deeply loved by consumers and is their first choice color when choosing clothing, home furnishings and other products.

However, sellers should be careful when using this term, because the USPTO shows that there are currently four Morandi trademarks in existence, all of which have taken effect, the most recent of which will take effect in August 2023, and the right holder is in Shanxi, China. Registration categories: 019, 020, 037, 042, 050, with a very wide range of protection, including carpets , bath mats , beach mats , carpet padding , chair mats , door mats , textile door mats , car floor mats , interlocking floor mats , rubber mats , stable mats used as animal mattresses , artificial turf , non-textile wall hangings , wallpaper , and yoga mats .

PURPLE:

In addition to Morandi color, the word purple is also very dangerous. According to industry sources, a rights holder filed a lawsuit to protect his rights last month.

The USPTO shows that there are currently 6 PURPLE trademarks in existence, 5 of which have been registered and effective, with the most recent one taking effect in 2020. The scope of protection is concentrated in the service field, and the registration categories are: 100, 101, and 104.

Trump:

I believe many sellers are familiar with this word, but few people think it is dangerous. Just a few days ago, a seller reported that because the word "Trump" was added to the product title, it was detected as infringement by the system and the store was directly closed for 3 years.

But the threat from Trump does not stop there. The USPTO shows that there are currently six Trump trademarks in existence , five of which have been registered and have taken effect. The trademark, which is still under review, was applied for in March this year. The right holder is a company in Delaware, USA. The registration categories are: 001, 004, 006, 050, 051, 052, and the protection scope is concentrated in the perfume category.

USB:

USB is a serial bus standard and a technical specification for input and output interfaces. It is widely used in information and communication products such as personal computers and mobile devices, and has been extended to other related fields such as photographic equipment, digital TVs (set-top boxes), and game consoles. But many people may not know that it has also been registered as a trademark.

According to the USPTO , there are currently 3 in existence , of which 1 has not yet come into effect and will be filed in 2022. The 2 that have come into effect have protection scopes of:

1. Chemicals used in industry and science, namely chemical reagents used in research laboratories; chemicals used in microbial and tissue culture; and chemicals used in genetic engineering.

2. Medical devices, namely endotracheal tubes; surgical tubes; endotracheal intubators, namely catheter needles and intubation needles; medical airway intubators, namely catheters and intubation catheters .

In addition, according to sellers’ feedback, collapsible, describe/description, ideal , perfect , chew , and the units Pcs (pieces), inches (inches), and ounces (ounces) have all been registered as trademarks. (For specific details, sellers can go to foreign trademark and patent offices for verification)

In summary, whether it is nouns, adjectives, or unit quantifiers, they may bring infringement risks to cross-border e-commerce sellers. Even if they are not sued by the right holders, the Amazon system’s identification and capture of suspected intellectual property infringements is becoming more and more strict. Therefore, when editing titles and detail pages, you must pay attention to avoidance to avoid pitfalls.

Trademark Infringement

Common words are trademarked