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Permalink Reply by Marshall Fuss on January 20, 2010 at 11:32pm

If it's "totally hypothetical," why do you "need" anyone's view? That being said, likelihood of consumer confusion is often the key issue in a trademark infringement or unfair competition case. People choosing new names should avoid such problems before they happen.

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Permalink Reply by Espresso Rescue on January 21, 2010 at 8:28am

I thought it was more obvious that this was not a hypothetical, in fact. Names have been chosen and secured by trademark...if there is little consumer confusion, it's not worth the cost to battle it out. So I pose the question a little more obviously this time: What is the likelihood of consumer confusion between an "espresso" and an "expresso"?

Marshall Fuss said:

If it's "totally hypothetical," why do you "need" anyone's view? That being said, likelihood of consumer confusion is often the key issue in a trademark infringement or unfair competition case. People choosing new names should avoid such problems before they happen.

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Permalink Reply by Marshall Fuss on January 21, 2010 at 9:22am

There are geographical, as well as word, issues here. and responsibilities to police your mark. You would be well advised to consult a lawyer at this point.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on January 21, 2010 at 10:05am

Not to take anything away from Marshall's sage advice... but as the owner of Carolina Espresso Services, my opinion is that consumer confusion is guaranteed.

At this point, I pretty much assume that any non-coffee people will incorrectly guess the spelling of espresso. I had it happen with every permit, insurance quote, account setup... they all misspelled it the first time. It was pretty shocking to me. I now spell espresso any time I give out my web address or email, unless I'm dealing with a select group of people - baristas. I've almost gone so far as to register the domain with the other spelling just to make sure it all ends up in the right place.

I would assume that at least half of your web traffic would end up in the wrong place - especially with customers that were not coffee shops - restaurants, schools, churches, etc.

Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Espresso Rescue on January 21, 2010 at 10:23am

Great advice as usual, Brady.

Brady said:

Not to take anything away from Marshall's sage advice... but as the owner of Carolina Espresso Services, my opinion is that consumer confusion is guaranteed.

At this point, I pretty much assume that any non-coffee people will incorrectly guess the spelling of espresso. I had it happen with every permit, insurance quote, account setup... they all misspelled it the first time. It was pretty shocking to me. I now spell espresso any time I give out my web address or email, unless I'm dealing with a select group of people - baristas. I've almost gone so far as to register the domain with the other spelling just to make sure it all ends up in the right place.

I would assume that at least half of your web traffic would end up in the wrong place - especially with customers that were not coffee shops - restaurants, schools, churches, etc.

Good luck.

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