Legal Question in Intellectual Property in North Carolina

I am interested in starting a magazine that will have classified ads, local news and of course advertising to local businesses to pay for the publication. I have chosen the name The Classified Yellow Pages Magazine. Would this name in anyway infring upon copyright laws for Yellow Pages TM?


Asked on 8/15/09, 12:26 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Sarah Grosse Sarah Grosse, Esquire

Yes, the name would infringe upon the trademark rights of the owner of YELLOW PAGES. The test for trademark infringement is "likelihood of confusion," i.e. is it likely that the relevant consuming public would be confused and think there is any affiliation between your product/service and the registered trademark owner's product/service? In this case, I think the answer is certainly "yes."

You will need to choose a different name. Before implementing the name, it would be smart to have an intellectual property attorney conduct and evaluate a trademark search to determine whether the name may infringe upon anyone's state or federal registered trademark or common law trademark; and whether your name may be registered as a trademark. It will cost you a little money up front, but it is better than implementing the name (spending money putting the name on everything) only to find out you infringe and have to change the name. Additionally, it is a smart business decision to register and protect your own trademark. So, before choosing and implementing a name, please run it by an intellectual property attorney first.

Good luck to you.

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Answered on 8/15/09, 9:24 am


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