There’s that old saying that goes something like: when you’ve dug yourself into a hole, the very first thing you have to do is stop digging. Or, if you’re Trader Joe’s, you …
At the risk if angering the union brigade I’ve already pissed off, that’s not how trademark law works, and all your anger at the man doesn’t change that.
The intent of the trademark was that no one could pass their wares off as yours. But over the years, the legal standings have changed it into something else. If someone uses something close to your trademark, and you let them, someone else can come along and use it as well. When you take the second use to court, they’ll cite that you didn’t protect it from the first use, and trademarks are lost that way.
They can totally use the name, they can kinda form it in the way that the company does it. But when they start matching the font and shape of the trademarked logos, shit gets messy. There’s a fine line between vaguely recognizable and protected which comes down to them fighting off trademark trolls. The non-fonted stuff they can’t do shit about, but when they pretty much stole the font with the funky serifs and wrapped it on those bags, it’s a bigger deal.
That said, they likely should have just licensed it to the union for very specific uses and called it a day. They’re burning through more bad PR and legal fees than is anywhere near necessary.
At the risk if angering the union brigade I’ve already pissed off, that’s not how trademark law works, and all your anger at the man doesn’t change that.
The intent of the trademark was that no one could pass their wares off as yours. But over the years, the legal standings have changed it into something else. If someone uses something close to your trademark, and you let them, someone else can come along and use it as well. When you take the second use to court, they’ll cite that you didn’t protect it from the first use, and trademarks are lost that way.
They can totally use the name, they can kinda form it in the way that the company does it. But when they start matching the font and shape of the trademarked logos, shit gets messy. There’s a fine line between vaguely recognizable and protected which comes down to them fighting off trademark trolls. The non-fonted stuff they can’t do shit about, but when they pretty much stole the font with the funky serifs and wrapped it on those bags, it’s a bigger deal.
That said, they likely should have just licensed it to the union for very specific uses and called it a day. They’re burning through more bad PR and legal fees than is anywhere near necessary.