Don't use the word Gallo

POTAWIE

POTAWIE

Have you all heard about this E. & J. Gallo Winery trademark lawsuit. They seem to think they own the word gallo, and are bullying others out of using this name which really just means rooster. Stuff like this is simply ridiculous in my opinion, especially a word like Gallo/rooster which is common in the food industry.
I guess its just as bad as Trump owning or trying to trademark the term "You're fired", or Gene Simmons trademarking the money bag symbol:)

http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/allyoucaneat/2009/04/20/gallo_crows_well_sue_you_spani.html
 
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So if thats the case, can i trademark my first and last name and sue the snot out of anyone with either of them and force them to change their names? Wow, my relatives would be effin' PISSED. Especially my mom.
 
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LUCKYDOG said:
The guy that does "Lets get ready to Rumble" has that trademarked as well
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Yep. I did him and his brother's holiday cards when I was in LA, great guys. His brother has the catch phrase "Let's get started" and that's trade marked also.
 
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TMs are registered in categories, so pertaining to wine, if used, it would violate the TM. If used for clothing, it would not. It doesn't matter if it's a common word. You can't sell a soft drink called Sprite, or Crush.

To take your Trump analogy, try to open a hotel called Trump (fill in the blank). Trump is a common dictionary word, but it's also a TM. Just like Gallo.

It's not ridiculous, it's brand protection. They "trade" under this name.

By the way, Gallo is not a word I am familiar with (Spanish?), but that doesn't even matter here. Common words can be TMed, and if they own it, they have the right to fight to protect it.
 
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In this case the company being bullied has been around longer than the the Winery that is suieng them but they are too small too do anything. It appears E. & J. Gallo Winery is fighting to have the rights to the words gallo" with anything food related. Ridiculous in my opinion but they are one of the biggest wineries and have the dollars.
 
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thehotpepper.com said:
TMs are registered in categories, so pertaining to wine, if used, it would violate the TM. If used for clothing, it would not. It doesn't matter if it's a common word. You can't sell a soft drink called Sprite, or Crush.

To take your Trump analogy, try to open a hotel called Trump (fill in the blank). Trump is a common dictionary word, but it's also a TM. Just like Gallo.

It's not ridiculous, it's brand protection. They "trade" under this name.

By the way, Gallo is not a word I am familiar with (Spanish?), but that doesn't even matter here. Common words can be TMed, and if they own it, they have the right to fight to protect it.
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I agree about the brand protection but I think that the matters could also be handled without sueing one another. Like when I named one of my hot sauces "tropical heat" I was contacted and informed that the name was used and TM'ed I quickly ceased using the name and had the contest to rename it and all parties were happy with the out come.

Why can't this practice be used by others rather than jumping right to the lawsuit?


Too many stupid Lawsuits like Trump sueing some writer for saying that Trump is worth millions. Trump says that that statement hurt his reputation because he's actually worth Billions. I mean come on
 
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Dyce51 said:
Why can't this practice be used by others rather than jumping right to the lawsuit?


Too many stupid Lawsuits like Trump sueing some writer for saying that Trump is worth millions. Trump says that that statement hurt his reputation because he's actually worth Billions. I mean come on
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This country has needed tort reform for many years now. It would seem the judges are getting better nowadays at tossing the silly sh*t out of the courts, but we still need a massive overhaul of the system.
 
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LUCKYDOG said:
The guy that does "Lets get ready to Rumble" has that trademarked as well
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Yup, Michael Buffer. He was at my work a few months ago for a boxing event and they recorded him saying it. They started using the sample right before the starting face off of hockey games and he gets paid every time its played. I think that's bull, but he was a pretty nice guy.
 
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This topic has come up before. I mentioned the Batman Cafe in Melbourne Australia getting bullied a few years back. It has been the Batman Cafe since the 1950's so called because of its location!

There is also the case of Burger King, who attempted to bully a small takeaway in Australia who had been trading for a number of years before they appeared in AUS. The corporate giant lost, and is now called Hungry Jack's in AUS.

MacDonald's, that paragon of all that is good in the world, tried to sue a guy called MacRae because he sponsored surf life savers and on their swimmers he had emblazoned MAC on their asses.

So, if your surname is Gallo, and you start a business and become successful, good on you! Use your name with pride. What is TM'd should be the ENTIRE name, E & J Gallo, not the word. Look to the precedent of others such as Smith, I can think of three such businesses in AUS that use that name.
 
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