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 No trademark for stealth...Elizabeth Gonsiorowski, Brooklyn Law School, November 06, 2006
Abstract: Leo Stoller has lost another trademark infringement case, and people who use the word "stealth" have re-claimed a little linguistic freedom. Stoller has been trying to protect his trademark for the word "stealth" for over two decades. In mid-October, not only were Leo Stoller’s claims of trademark infringement dismissed; he was deemed a vexatious litigant and barred from instituting a trademark suit without prior leave from the court. Hopefully, this marks the end of his Trademark abuses.
Stoller has filed numerous lawsuits and sent out dozens of cease and desist letters in an attempt to monopolize the use of the word "stealth." Operating as "Rent A Mark," he claims to be in the business of litigation and is a self-declared expert in intellectual property entrepreneurship. (See some of Stoller's earlier claims to "stealth.") In this recent case, he filed suit against a company that made fishing bobbers and used the word "stealth" in the name of one of its products. The company filed counterclaims, and Stoller filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to delay the suit. Making an exception to the usual procedures for bankruptcy cases, the court allowed the suit to go forward, and found his claims to be without merit. Stoller's trademarks were cancelled, and he was ordered to pay the fishing company's legal fees. Trademark law is designed to protect customers and producers alike by ensuring a certain level of quality, and making it easier for consumers to know what the source of a product is, while the producers can capitalize on what they've invested in their product. However, registering a commonly used word and using scare tactics to keep companies from using that word is antithetical to the purposes of trademark law, and prevents companies from using words of their choosing to describe products. |
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