Dueling USA Networks: the Christian channel I found on vacation (top)
and the well-known one owned by NBC Universal
I’m back from vacation.
I must say, I didn’t think much about trademark law while I was gone. One of the few times was when I came across a channel called “USA Network” on my hotel TV. I had expected to find edited-for-basic-cable movies and shows like “Monk” that are on the USA Network I get as part of my cable TV package at home. Not so. I instead found what appeared to be a channel offering 24-hour Christian content.
Hmmm. The marks are identical — USA NETWORK— and the services are identical — television services. So are these channels somehow related? I don’t think so, but I can’t tell. I guess you could say that I am confused.
Assuming the marks are not owned by NBC Universal, Inc. (which owns the USA Network I get at home), it may be that USA NETWORK is such a weak (if not downright generic) trademark when used in connection with television services that NBC Universal can’t stop lesser-known competitors from using the identical mark for identical services. If that’s the case, it’s not much of a trademark, is it?
Another possibility is that NBC Universal owns the Christian channel I came across. If that’s the case, NBC Universal is confusing viewers and watering down its own brand. That wouldn’t seem terribly smart.
One lesson to take from this is that a company adopts a weak trademark at its own peril. Why pour money into promoting a mark that you can’t protect? And if you have a protectable mark, don’t weaken it by associating it with incongruous goods or services. Doing so will only confuse consumers. Like me.