When it talks about corporate law, we can be sure to say that it is a rather complex and challenging area for juristic activity. Lawyers who are qualified and have enough experience in dealing with legal issues of enterprises, corporations, and startups have specific tasks. Many of them have to deal with one of the most frequent requests from modern businesses – asserting trademark rights.
Thanks to international trademark search, you have the opportunity to independently check the full list of registered trademarks and avoid accidental similarities. However this problem is common to both long-established companies and brand-new teams trying to market their product or service from the start. In either case, it is important to get to know the basic concepts and information about official trademark infringement and what criminal consequences it may bring.
A Clear Explanation of What is a “Trademark”
Even though different countries have their own nuances and local legislation, the basic principle of defining the rights to trademarks was formed in the world legal practice back in the second half of the 20th century.
Trademarks belong to intellectual property, expressed primarily in a commercial idea, which has value and is protected by law.
A trademark can be a product name and logo, as well as brands, signs, slogans, design concepts, and even special combinations of colors, smells, or sounds. The main quality of which is a characteristic of the product or service belonging to a particular maker and having a strong commercial context.
To preserve and control the observance of legal rights in this area, all trademarks are subject to official registration with specialized agencies and entry in registers.
Reasons for Trademark Infringement Litigation
The main reason why trademark law is of such great and important relevance is the constant attempts to infringe these rights. Lawsuits for damage to the reputation and financial income of companies due to theft or copying of an exclusive trademark happen regularly.
Of course, there are cases when the use of another’s brand or packaging is not on purpose. The same idea may come into the minds of a few creative entrepreneurs at once. But for such cases, there is a rule of precedence, that is, who was the first to apply to the official authorities and register the trademark and has the full legal right to use it. To prevent confusion and unintentional infringement of the intellectual rights of another company, it is recommended to use specialized services to search for trademarks and check whether there are no similarities and coincidences before translating into reality their ideas.
But this is not the case when the theft of a brand’s trademark is done on purpose, to obtain greater financial gain or deceive consumers.
Practical Penalties for Violations of Laws Protecting Trademarks
It is important to consider if your company has been subjected to theft of a brand or any other type of commercial idea. The first thing to think about is whether you have carried out the full procedure of its official registration. If not, it is unlikely that you can count on a fair outcome of the proceedings.
But in cases where a trademark has been registered by legal acts, you should contact professional lawyers and start proceedings. When a case of trademark infringement reaches law enforcement agencies, there is always a set order of further steps:
- Letter to stop unlawful acts
This is a precautionary tool to combat instances of accidental infringement. Most often at this point, a competitor company will stop illegally using another’s trademark
- Injunction
This is a special type of order from a judge that requires the infringer to stop any use of the other company’s commercial ideas.
- Orders to compensate the plaintiff company for damages
A court order imposing a fine that most often involves commercial reparations and legal fees.
Trademark Stealing: Risks of Criminal Liability
As we have pointed out in previous sections of this article, each country has its distinctive approaches to the statutory protection of intellectual property rights. Fortunately, the United States is one of the advanced countries where copyright and intellectual property law are prominent in the state court system. In the most complex cases in the practice of law, the struggle of businesses for the right to use trademarks takes place under the full control of the judge and all responsible organizations.
Criminal penalties are the most extreme measure in the area of trademark infringement. In most known examples, such cases end with the identification of the guilty parties and bringing them to administrative responsibility. But do not forget that no one can get off easy in such cases. Often, the amount of fines can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars for each episode of infringement. Defendant companies are doomed to fail, pursued by bailiffs, until they pay the full amount of reparations. But complete disregard for court injunctions can already lead to the business owner being criminally prosecuted and ending up in jail.