Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois

Hello, I am in the process of publishing a book and I am from Chicago. In the city of Chicago we have a event that happens every year called Taste of Chicago that all the restaurant in the city come and sell there foods and on the fourth of July the city does the fireworks from the lake for the event. I want my book title to be A Taste of Chicago but it has nothing to do with food, it is a book based on a young girl from Chicago that left and went into the military and began that wonderful journey of life. I wanted to know if i could use that name even thought it has nothing to do with that event and since it starts with A and not Taste?


Asked on 1/06/11, 9:11 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bruce Burdick Burdick Law Firm

Your question has been on lawguru quite long without an answer so I will give you one, although I am located downstate near St. Louis in Alton, IL. A second comer has a legal duty to avoid an likelihood of confusion with existing marks. You are to be commended for checking your position to try to comply with that duty. I think you can do this if you provide a disclaimer on the title page of your book: "This book has nothing whatsoever to do with the annual Taste of Chicago food sampling festival." The use of "A" is irrelevant to the question, as very few people, even in Chicago, would recognize any difference. This question is already answered by reality. There is a restaurant by the same name:Taste of Chicago Restaurant

3170 S Ashland Ave # H, Chicago, IL 60608-6261 (773) 579-0355 . Certainly if they can do it for the same services - food - you should be safe to do it for something quite different. The disclaimer should seal the deal. and keep you safe and the public unconfused.

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Answered on 1/31/11, 6:51 pm


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