"That’s something that just isn’t true, said Woodrow Hartzog, an associate professor at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law and a former trademark examiner for the USPTO.
“A lot of times, the natural inclination of rights holders is to exercise as much control as possible over the rights,” Hartzog said. “There are a lot of common myths when someone has trademark protection, because it’s like, ‘Oh, I can’t use this word at all,’ or ‘I can’t take a picture of this.’ … But that’s not really how trademark law works. It sounds often more protective than it actually is in practice. And that’s what’s likely true in this case as well.”"
- Date Published:11/30/2016
- Original Publication:Weld for Birmingham