A Chinese company, has trademarked the phrase “Happy Birthday” for children’s toys.
Surprisingly enough — the phrase “happy birthday” has been registered as a U.S. federal trademark more than 20 times for such items as greeting cards, bakery goods and non-alcoholic beverages.
Remember: any word, phrase or symbol can be a trademark as long as it indicates a single origin or source of goods and services. While not exactly distinctive, the phrase “happy birthday” could arguably come to indicate a single origin or source for each of the goods listed – but – the scope of protection is probably fairly limited due to the overlapping uses (including non-trademark usage).
For more information on trademarks — download DCR’s trademark primer.
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Posted by Douglas Sorocco, October 17, 2004 at 8:22 pm
Permalink: chinese firm trademarks “happy birthday”
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