Nordstom's Aggressive TTAB Conduct Irks Many in the Blogosphere

Michael Atkins, at his Seattle Trademark Lawyer blog, picks up on the story (here) circulating on the Internet regarding Seattle-based Nordstrom, Inc.'s aggressive TTAB strategy vis-a-vis the registered mark BECKONS for various clothing items.


The unhappy registrant, forced to fight for its registration, complained to the Commissioner of Trademarks:

"We filed for a trademark so that we could reasonably secure ourselves from someone else using that name. If your office cannot protect us from this, why would we, or anyone, file an application? The law is supposed to be accessible to all people. Just because Nordstrom has money and we do not does not give them the right to use the name for which we have the trademark…. [T]he cost to work through the TTAB will easily exceed $70,000 just to fix the problem The Trademark Office made in the first place. We understand that we must stand behind and police our trademark. How is this possible for a small company to stand up to a behemoth like Nordstrom for $70,000? Your office has ensured our demise."

Perhaps TPAC will address this question at its Feb. 20th meeting (see prior posting).

Text Copyright John L. Welch 2009.