Question

Alpha Software, Inc., announced a new computer operating system to be marketed under the name McSoftware. McDonald's Corp. wrote Alpha a letter stating that the use of this name infringed on the McDonald's family of trademarks characterized by the prefix "Mc" attached to a generic term. Alpha claimed that "Mc" had come into generic use as a prefix and therefore McDonald's had no trademark rights to the prefix itself. Alpha filed an action seeking a judgment from the court that the mark McSoftware did not infringe on McDonald's federally registered trademarks or its common law rights to the marks and that its use would not constitute an unfair trade practice. What factors must the court consider in deciding this issue? What will be the probable outcome of the case? Explain.

Answer 1

Answer:

According to the legal framewoerk, the court should study the following factors:

Strength of the plaintiff's trademark

Degree of similarity between the two marks at issue

Similarity of the goods and services at issue

Evidence of actual confusion

Purchaser sophistication

Quality of the defendant's goods or services

Whether the defendant's attempt to register the trademark was in good faith

Specifically, for the case the courth should study the similarity of the good/service (the computer) and the strenght of the plaintiff's trademark.

Potential outcome can be the win of the lawsuit by Alpha Software Inc.

Explanation:

The lawsuit can be won by Alpha, as the use of the trademark can be justified in the disparity of the good/service focus of the companies. So, Mc'Donalds can use the preffix and alleged the owning, but it's core business is not entirely related to the one of Alpha, therefore avoiding any missidentification, and the fact that the strenght of the trademark made it more identifiable with fast food services, than with computer and electronics. It can be related to the arguments of Polaroid vrs Polarad.