Seattle Trademark Lawyer

Everett’s Absolut Hair Salon & Makeup is changing its name.

It’s doing so in response to a cease-and-desist letter it received from Absolut Company Aktiebolag, the company that owns the ABSOLUT brand in connection with vodka.

That’s a big disruption to a small business. The salon says it will cost $20k to effect the change.

There are a few lessons here. First, it’s important to search for conflicting trademarks before adopting and investing in a new brand.

Second, in clearing a trademark for possible use, businesses are right to avoid adopting a mark that would likely cause confusion with a prior use. But they shouldn’t overlook trademark dilution, which at the federal level and in some states (including Washington), protects against the use of a famous trademark in a way that would lessen the capacity of the famous mark to point back exclusively to the famous trademark owner. Here, Absolut (the vodka company) is saying that Absolut (the hair salon) is doing just that — diluting the vodka company’s brand. In other words, even if consumers probably wouldn’t think the vodka company is running a hair salon, consumers that see the hair salon’s trademark are likely to start thinking of both the hair salon and the vodka company, rather than just the vodka company. At least that’s what the vodka company is arguing. In this way, dilution statutes give famous brand owners super-trademark rights.

Third, one can see the power of being big. Even if the salon is right — and that it hasn’t done anything wrong — it may not be able to afford to litigate in court for the next year or so in order to prove its case. Or even if it could afford to fight, the cost of the litigation may outstrip the value of being able to keep its name. The big vodka company, on the other hand, can leverage its size to force a change. When not justified, this is known as trademark bullying. It’s a power dynamic smaller companies should consider.

To state the obvious, it’s far better to avoid a potential trademark dispute before adopting a mark than having to make an abrupt change after years of investment. Search first, adopt later, and avoid trademark pitfalls that can disrupt your business.