Brand new and growing businesses have a strong incentive to protect their intellectual property, including the trademarks that customers associate with their goods and services.
Can you even imagine Nike without its famous swoosh?
In recent years, entrepreneurs and businesses have gotten bolder in seeking trademark protection for their brands. For example, last year General Mills sought unsuccessfully to trademark the color yellow for use on boxes of Cheerios.
Twenty-five years ago, that American icon, Harley Davidson, tried to trademark the sound of its revving engine, but that attempt was also unsuccessful.
Still, there have been a number of notable trademark successes that might surprise you. For example, in 2010, Facebook was able to get trademark protection for the word “face.” And, Taylor Swift has successfully trademarked some of her well-know song lyrics, including “This sick beat” and “Party like its 1989.”
But, the trend towards businesses getting more aggressive in seeking trademark protection might have recently reached a new level. Proctor & Gamble has filed for trademark protection for the common acronyms “LOL” and “NBD,” as well as a couple that I don’t want to mention but you may know what they are.
Whether P&G will be successful is unknown at the present time, as its trademark application is still pending.
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