Legal Question in Entertainment Law in California
trademark infringement
I have a trademarked name used for a team that i played on and the company that owns the team has clear ownership of the name. I was wondering if there was any type of loop hole that might allow me to use an assimilation of the name and how much i need to change it in order for it to be different enough to where i am not committing trademark infringement
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: trademark infringement
The test in cases of trademark infringement is "likelihood of confusion". So your mark cannot be confusingly similar to that of any other trademark holder.
You are, under limited circumstances, permitted to use the name of the team you played for in order to identify yourself and your background (see the Teri Welles case against Playboy, in which she was permitted to DESCRIBE HERSELF as having been a Playmate.)
You should definitely consult an attorney. This is too complicated for an online forum to really cover all the bases.