Lawsuit Waiting to Happen
They’re in a different business so it isn’t as egregious an imitation as McDowell’s Hamburgers in Coming to America, but I still would not surprised if Best Buy Inc. sent some legal goons to talk to Best Buy Carpet on Chain Bridge Road in downtown McLean, Virginia about the yellow block letters used in their sign.
My understanding is that a similar business name in a different market segment is fair game. All the same, we know that the carpet store is riding on the coattails of the electronics store. Maybe instead of marketing my services using my own name, I will call my company “Jiffy Lube Photography.” That should get me more business.
I think the carpet place is onto something here.
Generally the judgement comes down to an judgement by a Trademarks attorney regarding (a) how similar the mark is to other marks (e.g. does it look and feel the same) and (b) whether or not a similar mark that is already registered provides the same goods or services.
Though I’m no Trademarks attorney, the sign above looks somewhat similar to BestBuy (color, text style, etc.) – but obviously they are providing different services…
Then again, there is nothing that requires you to have a mark “registered” with the government unless you want the protections that come with that. By example, if Carl’s Jiffy Lube Photography was not trademarked – he could use is assuming no one with a registered trademark took issue with it.
I wouldn’t want my business to associate integrity and quality work with Jiffy Lube if I were you. Not unless you run your business like Jiffy Lube, according to this news feature.