Brand trademark question

It's a $ 400 gamble to see if you get it or not. I applied for 2 trademarks. The first one got declined and I just let it be, didn't pursue it further. The second one I used the word Hollywood after the name I want to use to make it sound a little more glamourous. The trademark office came back to me and said the name I want to use is already taken by Sara Lee. Among other things, they registered the name I want, along with "Hanes" to make sleepwear and underwear. They also told me "Hollywood" is already used by someone else. I wrote them back and explained that I make cocktail dresses, not sleepwear and underwear. And a city name should not be used exclusively by one designer. Jones New York, Donna Karan New York (DKNY) and Kenneth Cole New York all want to use New York as part of their brand name. The trademark office read my explanation and saw pictures of my dresses, agreed that there should not be confusion between my brand and Sara Lee's brand, and I got my trademark.

Caution that even after you get your trademark, other companies using the same name can come after you. Look at what is happening with Beyonce and Abercrombie over the use of the name "Fierce". Beyonce sued by Abercrombie & Fitch over fierce fragrance name

It's your call whether it's worth it.

dlac said:

More importantly I think is that you are not doing the same things as Rook,,, don't copy their blank items, and hopefully your art does not look like their art.. I think that is more important than the name...

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I tend to disagree with this. First off, blank garments cannot be protected (unless there is something special about the garment that qualifies it for a patent). So that should not be an issue at all. Second, t-shirt designs typically come and go. Each season, companies launch new designs and the old ones are discontinued. Yet the brand name lasts forever. So if there is a priority in terms of IP protection, it is generally the brand name, not the individual designs. Don't get me wrong, if there is blatant infringement, companies will pursue legal action. But oftentimes concepts and ideas can be ripped off, but the design itself is different enough that it's not infringement. That's why you see so many similar design concepts out there. For instance, I can launch a brand with designs based on the SoCal lifestyle, but I certainly cannot call it Hollister (or any similar variation).

dlac said:

There are a lot of companies out there with the same names and no one gets lawyered up until someone is plagurizing someone elses ideas and products

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Ideas cannot be protected as intellectual property. Products are protected by patent. Brand names are protected by trademark. It is possible for multiple trademark registrations for the same name if they are for different classifications. But when there are two similar marks in the same classification, that's when companies get lawyered up.