thanks! I know you had a little trouble with that yourself.
Not lawyer but I think complain have to Be filed in state where infringement happened.
Well first you would get a warning letter to stop infringing.
They have a US trademark. They’d sue in a US court. Their trademark attorney in Alexandria, VA would take care of it.
I am opening a brewery later this year and now you are telling me I am not going to make any money, thanks for the let down 
How original the name is part of what determines the scope of your trademark protection. So a common word like Delta, Delaware, or any other place name or dictionary word will have protection that’s more limited to the exact nature of your business. Frappacino, being made up, gets broader protection because it’s a more unique name. That said - they’re both beverages.
These days trademark infringement seems like a sound way to get some short-term PR. Not sure if that translates into long term sales though.
Our company fought a copyright infringement lawsuit a few years ago. It was frivolous from the start but it still cost us 1 million dollars and change to win, plus it consumed 2 whole years and lead to my boss’s death from the stress. Hearing the judge ream the opponent for all the BS he put us through was gratifying, but we still were out a million dollars.
Don’t even think of infringing on somebody’s trademark. This thread would come in as evidence and you’'d get hammered because you were aware of the situation and did it anyway. I don’t know what happened to the Thirsty Monk, but I’m sure it was unpleasant and costly.
I think Thirsty Monk had to send all those t-shirts and hats that were made to Africa just to get rid of them.
Trademark infringement is bad stuff. If you are infringing on another party’s mark then at best you have to give up all the work you put into building that brand. At worst you get sued and the court orders you to give up the infringing content plus you pay their attorney fees and your own.
A search of the USPTO trademark database should be your starting point but it’s not the only search you should do. You should also search your state’s mark database if your state provides trademark registration (as I think all do) as well as a basic internet search. Trademarks do not have to be registered with federal or state offices. They can be protected under common law rights. Your search should be for both images and names.
It was valuable lesson learned early on. No too much harm when looking back.
Not too far from truth.
There was tornado in central IL. They went there.
USPTO will supersede any state trademarks. You need to have federal trademark.
I’m my state you can register the mark for informational info only. So why bother.
I could disagree that you do not have to register trademark. If you do not do it, you do not have trademark. You could try Prior Use but you might not be that lucky.
As I said. I am not a lawyer.
And here is another story. They new about that brand had existed but they ignored it.