Billings Don't Only Matter to Lawyers

And trademark law does't evidently matter all that much to the Billings Gazette. What a mess this story is! Here are some of the trademark law howlers in this one piece about a fairly routine trademark dispute:

• "Actually, the Burkhartsmeiers have only filed for the trademarks. The federal government hasn't granted them yet. " NO! The government doesn't "grant" trademarks. It protects them via the legal system and may even grant you a trademark application for your trouble. But trademarks are established by use, not by the government.
• "After registering Coffee Mill and Coffee Mill Espresso & More in Montana, Morgan started filing for national registration last June. However, her computer crashed and she got caught up in running for the state Legislature. Now she's trying again to protect her business names. " NO! Business names are not trademarks! They can be trade names, but they may not be entitled to trademark protection.
• "To truly protect a business name, a company has to register at the federal level and in each state for trademarks, trade names and service marks. " NO! Truly ridiculous, and in some states, truly irrelevant.

Remember, I'm a media blogger. Someone's got to speak trademark truth to power!