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How is this trademarked?
This is not a “problem,” and of absolutely no consequence to anything other than my curiosity… but I’m puzzled over something…
Here in the southeast, there is an HVAC company called “Hiller.” I think they are a medium-big operation, operating in several states… heating, plumbing, electrical, all that jazz. You see their trucks on the streets around here all the time.
I did notice something on their trucks though… their logo incorporates the iconic “smiley face” icon… and whenever you see it there’s the little “TM” beside it… trademarked….
I was always under the impression that the “smiley face” was neither trademarked, nor trademarkable… remembering Wal-Mart’s unsuccessful efforts to trademark it several years ago.
I did a bit of research (meaning 45 seconds worth of Googling)… it seems a company in London owns rights to the trademark in a hundred countries… but not in the United States. Wal-Mart had tried and failed to trademark the icon (and even the word “smiley”). This British company then went after Wal-Mart, and after a lengthy (seven year) process a court decided that the plaintiff ” “has failed to establish that the smiley face has acquired secondary meaning or that it is otherwise a protectible trademark.”
So… how can Hiller “TM” it? Anyone hazard a guess as to what is going on?
Again, nothing but curiosity, but it has me shaking my head….
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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8 Replies
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Possible that they’re just claiming that without having registered it.
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There is no “way to peace.” Peace is the way.
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I think they’re trade-marking the *slogan* next to the happy face.
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I would agree with Mark, except the trademark on the door does not include the slogan.
Greg Ball, President
Ball Media Innovations, Inc.
https://www.ballmediainnovations.com -
It seems pretty clear to me that this trademark is referring to the smiley face. The TM is right adjacent to the face, appears even when the face is solo (like on the door), and anyway there is a separate and additional TM by the slogan.
I’ve inquired of a friend who is an IP attorney, but haven’t heard back from him.
Also sent a message to the company, asking if there was an email for someone in marketing there.
Spending way too much brainpower on something that doesn’t affect me in any way whatsoever… but I’m curious.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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I’d go one further in the stakes of bare faced cheek. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone had to create the graphics to go on each of their vans and used Google images search to find the smiley face and found a high enough res version of it to use on their own files that still had the tm attached to the original JPEG. This got sent to the wrap printers for the vans and before anyone realised the issue, every van had the tm mark printed on them and somewhere a company lawyer just shivered.
Co-owner at Pollen Studio
http://www.pollenstudio.co.uk -
Ha… that is a funny scenario, Tom… and almost plausible in this day and age.
The Devil’s Advocate position against that though is that the little TM isn’t always exactly the same, appears in various positions and sizes… and is also seen whenever their logo appears electronically, such as on their website.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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After some amateur sleuthing, here is my 2 cents.
First, the TM is usually placed after the mark and in the upper right (which make sense because we read english left to right). By it being in the lower left I think someone just put it there because when they see logos they usually see a “TM” next to them.
Secondly, the TM is for unregistered trademarks so I think you can put a TM next to pretty much anything in an attempt to signify ownership over it, but whether or not it stands up in court is a different matter all together. If you see the “R” with the circle around it then that means the logo has been registered with, and approved by, the USPTO.
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Andrew is completely correct. TM means one has APPLIED for a trademark. CircleR means it has been granted. Therefore any number of companies could throw a TM next to their logo and logo mark and legally it has little to no meaning.
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