OW&E’s Larry Townsend is quoted extensively in an article published on November 3, 2020 by law.com’s Scott Graham, Unclean Hands and Dirty Hooves: A Trademark Applicant Takes on a Serial Opposer
The well-known fitness drink Red Bull is challenging Toro Performance’s application to register a winged bull mark. The attorney for Toro Performance alleges that Red Bull has been unreasonably aggressive in defending its brand against unrelated businesses and that Toro Performance is the latest link in the chain.
According to the article, “Owen, Wickersham & Erickson trademark attorney Lawrence Townsend, who’s not involved in the case, said he believes Red Bull’s opposition is weak, but he understands why it’s being brought. ‘It’s not uncommon for big brands to be bullishly aggressive in keeping the federal register of trademarks free of any marks that contain any variation of any portion or feature of their identity for related goods or services,’ he said.”
Larry adds: “if you let one bull in, then the next one comes, and the next one and the next one. Some of them may be bad actors. They say, ‘Hey, you let this bull in, and mine’s only slightly different.”