Law-Forums.org

[stephon14]

Let's say for hypothetical reasons I want to trademark T-PST (short for toothpaste). I want to call my toothpaste business T-pst. Another toothpaste company is using the name TpasteCo, and yet another is using the Pst. We all manufacture toothpaste. If my company takes off in 5 years do you think the other two companies can sue me in the future for trademark infringement?

(this is a hypothetical name and business but is close to a situation at hand - I can't think of a better example).

[sonny]

Hypothetical cases in law do not exist. Wait and see,

[shashank]

Hypothetical cases in law do not exist. Wait and see,

"T-pst" does not appear to be confusingly similar to "TpasteCo" ("T-pst" vs. "TPasteCo"), but does appear to be confusingly similar to "pst" (i.e., only the "T-" has been added ("T-pst" vs. "pst")).

Your trademark may infringe the "pst" trademark.

[emek]

The easiest way to find out is to try registering the name with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The general rule is avoidance of confusion. If a reasonable person could infer a link (be confused) between the companies, the Trademarks will be disallowed