Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

I have a product I sell called tater salad. I want to trademark it but the name is taken under toy or doll classifcation


Asked on 5/04/12, 12:25 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Dana Robinson Techlaw LLP

Your problem isn't likely to be the prior registration for a toy or doll, but the fact that "tater" is a common word for "potato" and thus might be considered descriptive (assuming your product is a salad with potatoes in it). I would guess that the Trademark Office would reject "tater salad" as descriptive of "potato salad." A Supplemental Registration might be feasible, but even that could be rejected if the mark is considered generic.

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Answered on 5/04/12, 12:29 pm
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Trademarks are issued by product category, so it would be possible to register "Purple Passion" as a trademark for a paint color, a Zinfandel, and a lipstick without conflict. There are about 50 categories recognized. As the previous answer suggests, your biggest problem is that the term might be considered generic for a food product consisting basically of potato salad. That's why someone was able to register it under the toys and dolls category, and you could register it as a trademark for paint, wine or cosmetics, but you might not be able to register it for a food product.

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Answered on 5/04/12, 12:55 pm


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