Session 2 Internet Research

Michelle Lawson

Colorado Christian University

August 2, 2020
 Trademarks

           A trademark helps to tell the difference from one product to another. This can be done in a

variety of different ways. Trademarks can have identifiers in words, small slogans, signs and

even designs thinking about how to tell them apart from other products. “These are distinctive

from patents or copyrights as to how they never expire and do not have specific terms of years

that they last” (Boeckh, 2019). As long as this particular mark is continued on commerce and

indicated as a product taken essentially it lasts forever, and the rights are considered a use. This

is what makes them so unrelated from patents and copyrights. “Trademarks in particular are

protected by intellectual property rights this includes the (WIPO) which protects the trademarks

of patents, copyrights and trade secrets” (Boeckh, 2019). These intellectual property rights

permit the owners of the trademarks to communicate different origins of their product or service

with their consumers by allowing it to be protected from being reproduced by anyone else. This

can also be done by registration through filing applications on national or regional levels. They

do this in office, with fees that are required to be paid. This is done through the same

organization of the WIPO. 

           The principle behind registration of these trademarks is the to give company an exclusive

right to that word, phrase, symbol or design that they have created. This license is only to their

company and no other parties that will hold up in court against litigations that they own all

rights. “There can be issues with trademark registration if it is not renewed every 10 years and

additional fees if not renewed on time” (“Trademark Registration”, 2017). There are limitless

possibilities with trademarks it just depends on how companies or individuals wants to use them.

This includes how a person would like to search for a specific trademark for research. A person

can look at using the trademark number, the owner, keyword, phrase, or image. Any of these
different ways can help a person find the specific trademark to learn more about that

organization or individual service.

Who owns the Trademark?

           This charity cycling organization helps support several events for children by donating to

local hospitals and other foundations. The organization is considered a charitable foundation in

which all the contributions are deductible and receive a substantial amount of support from

governmental units and the generalized public. “The actual mark shows three cyclists with gold-

colored skin under the cycles in the center, with blue and black colored outfits on the right side.

They are wearing red and black on the left side with green and black outfits near the bottom.

There is a big gray cycle that is written in white lettering TOUR DE KIDS TEAM USA with a

black ribbon imaging a star that shows the logo of TEAM USA in the shadow” (“TOUR DE

KIDS TEAM USA Trademark of THE TREADSTONE GROUP, INC”, 2020). This helps to

represent unity any equality for all children understanding of the organization comes together as

one group to help everyone. They build on entertainment recreational services through different

cycling events by donations to help children’s charities.

           Most businesses have specific trademarks to help distinguish them from one party or

another in dealing with their product. “A trademark can be consistent of a word, design, symbol

or even a phrase that is catchy to that specific organization or product” (Warner & Siedel &

Lieberman & Martina, 2012p. 95). The trademark for this organization is TOUR DE KIDS

TEAM USA which was last on by a nonprofit corporation in Colorado located at 2404

S. Sedadlia Circle Aurora Colorado 80013. The recent owners of this trademark are the

Treadstone Group Inc. They are considered a consulting business that manages intellectual

services with regards to research and informational questions to help the organization. “The
trademark owner, in particular, can be an individual or business organization by which

considering any legal entity” (Warner & Siedel & Lieberman & Martina, 2012p. 95). Since a

brand owner can be use under other licensing agreements as long as there is no trademark

infringement. The owner always has the right to take legal action against a third party if they feel

they have infringed on their trademark's rights. 

Is it a Trademark or Service Mark?

           This organization is considered a service mark because it provides services to the public

rather than a specific good or product. “This service mark can be considered a simple word or

phrase that can distinguish a source providing a simple service to the public” (Tsaregorodtsev,

2017). In the United States, a service mark is considered a trademark although in other countries,

it may be identified as a service rather than a product considering how they look at it. Since this

organization is providing services to children to recreational activities and charitable donations,

they use the service mark in this capacity. 

What is the difference?

           There are some significant differences between service marks and trademarks when it

comes to United States law. They have a different standard of use in commerce. “Trademarks are

directly associated with sales of goods and normally displayed in the store where services are

defined in uniforms or service providers with advertisements associated with the commerce”

(Panda & Patel, 2011). Service marks in particular, must pass distinctiveness for them to be

qualified as a service mark. Both service marks and trademarks do not need to be registered to

establish common law rights, although it provides more benefits to the owner of any unforeseen

litigation processes that arise due to damages in court. “When using commerce, the US Patent

and Trademark Office (USPTO) it is important to register the mark to qualify it for different uses
allowing them to display associate goods for tags and labels. This gives commerce along with

services to be considered a use of display for sales and advertising rendered by a person from

one state to another” (“Extract from the USPTO Manual of Patent Examining Procedure”, 2018).

The symbols alone are different with trademark being TM and SM standing for service mark

neither one holds a legal significance unless there is an R with a circle around it stating that they

are registered with the USPTO. The main difference between the two is there are no services

provided with the trademark and the services provided are considered service marks.

Is there a Disclaimer?

           This organization has no disclaimer that has been claimed exclusively for the right of the

TEAM USA name except for being a part of the service mark that is being shown. Since the

organization is dealing with recreational services and bicycles, it would be a good idea to have a

disclaimer. If the organization is issuing the bicycles and if they put their names on the bicycles.

If they are allowing the participants to use their cycles, the disclaimer is not necessary.

What is that Disclaimer, and why is it disclaimed?

           Different elements are involved in the trademark and the service mark process. “One of

which is the disclaimer statement that can be included in an application that allows a person to

claim specific rights to an unregistered mark” (“How to satisfy a disclaimer requirement”, 2020).

People can use assemble or word that relates to a trademark on their products because they have

this disclaimer. Even if the product is registered through the USPTO a still has a disclaimer that

states “no claim is made with exclusive rights” stating that other people or companies may still

have rights to that trademark or service mark. 

           A disclaimer essential purpose helps competitors continue using other trademarks but not

significantly using all of the trademark just proportions of it. Examples of this would be using a
specific trademark in a different language. “Another important element is the disclaimers are not

always necessary in cases where they are more descriptive or generic with their features that will

give a mark but not be required for a disclaimer” (“How to satisfy a disclaimer requirement”,

2020). In this particular case, there was no disclaimer found, but there was a predetermined text

for TEAM USA still holding no specific rights allowing others in organizations access to

portions of the service marks.

           A disclaimer can often be used to simply permit the registration of a mark as a whole

because it would not be able to stand alone if a person did not have some elements of that mark

without the disclaimer. “A disclaimer gives a component to that mark in the statement to the

particular registration allowing no rights to be asserted in the disclaims component while

standing alone all those particular registration can be represented through the rights composited

into that particular mark” (“ How to satisfy a disclaimer requirement”, 2020). This works as a

backup system for the trademark or service mark in the eyes of the law. If they do not register the

service or trademark the disclaimer can be used as an amendment, which an attorney could use in

a court. In short, this protects the individual or company that owns the rights to the trademarks

and services whether they are registered or not to use their goods and services.

Conclusion

           Looking over everything that has been discussed, trademarks and service marks our a way

to differentiate individuals and companies from each other. They give a sense of identity for

products and services. This is just the same as God gave us an identity, we give these products

and services the same. “God-shaped man in his own image, in the image that God he created

male and female” (Genesis 1:27, ESV). In understanding this process, we also need to use the

disclaimers and protect the ideas that we have created. Just as God protects us throughout our
plans and journeys that we go through each and everyday. We protector trademarks and service

mark their intellectual property rights that state what is right and wrong from an authority role.

The Bible discusses many things about intellectual property in regards to how a treat an

individual’s property and including authoritative government. The code (17 U.S.C. § 506, 2020)

“Discusses how to be a criminal defense to infringe on reproduction or distribution of any

copyright that works in regards to trademarks that have a total value of more than $1000 of

intangible intellectual property values that vastly exceed their worth according to the guidelines

and mandates of the court”. If we look at this from a biblical standpoint, this is considered

stealing.

Trademarks are something that we own or produced on our thoughts and ideas. This is

not something to take lightly when we defy the rules that he sets in front of us just like governing

authorities. “A person shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15, ESV). In other cases, God looks upon this

as taking something from someone else that does not belong to you. “The princes of Judah are

like those who remove a landmark and will be punished out of the wrath of water” (Hosea 5:10,

ESV). This is gesturing that those trademarks and service marks are registered and have

intellectual property rights with specific disclaimers that say they own them no one should steal

their ideas. This is why these laws are put into place. Got expects us to respect the authorities he

is appointed in place and follow the laws governing over us. It is essential to respect the laws of

trademarks and disclaimers by understanding that companies and individuals have the identical

rights as everyone else when trying to run a business. We are all individuals and we deserve our

individuality.
 Reference

Boeckh, T. (2019). Trademarks and Designs. Intellectual Property Management, 81-95.

doi:10.1002/9783527612215.ch5

Extract from the USPTO Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. (2018). Patents and the

Measurement of International Competitiveness. doi:10.4337/9781781007532.00046

How to satisfy a disclaimer requirement. (2020, April 09). Retrieved from

https://www.uspto.gov/trademark/laws-regulations/how-satisfy-disclaimer-requirement

Panda, A., & Patel, A. (2011). Recent News on Trademark and Patent Laws. SSRN Electronic

Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.1974335

           Trademark Registration. (2017). Patent and Trademark Tactics and Practice, 159-178.

doi:10.1002/9780470172285.ch15

Tsaregorodtsev, E. A. (2017). Rights of Trademark and Service Mark Holders and Civil Law

Protection Thereof. Legal Education And Science, 8, 43-46. doi:10.18572/1813-1190-

2017-8-43-46

TOUR DE KIDS TEAM USA Trademark of THE TREADSTONE GROUP, INC. - Registration

Number 4037972 - Serial Number 85254136 :: Justia Trademarks. (2020). Retrieved

from https://trademarks.justia.com/852/54/tour-de-kids-team-usa-85254136.html

Warner, D., Siedel, G., Lieberman, J., & Martina, A. (2012). The legal environment and business

law: Executive MBA edition v. 1.0.

           17 U.S.C. § 506 - U.S. Code Title 17. Copyrights § 506. (2020). Retrieved from

https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-17-copyrights/17-usc-sect-506.html