That home DIY moment when you
realise you only have two options: down tools and live with it, or spend some
cash for an expensive expert to sort it out. This Leo has just learned (a few months later) that the ‘nollywood’ trade mark challenge reported here
last year ended without much argument.
 |
| Do I need a forklift for this? |
Reproduced below is the body of
the withdrawal letter to the Trademark
Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) in which the petitioner also asked for a chance
to slug it out again in the future.
“Today September 1, 2014, I
Olusola Osofisan, wish to withdraw petition #92059251 because I have been
unable to secure legal representation due to its cost and my financial
limitations.
The withdrawal of this petition
does not in any way mean that I am admitting that the Registrant should have
been given the trademark of the term Nollywood by the USPTO. In fact, I am more
convinced than ever that he pulled a fast one on everyone, but it is what it is
and I do not want to set up a potentially bad precedent by mishandling the case
that should be left to an attorney.
I believe the USPTO should
revisit its approval of this registration by doing additional investigation –
or simply review the original due diligence done when the trademark was
granted. Somebody goofed in a big way. Dictionaries now list the word as the
name of the Nigerian movie industry and this registration flies in the face of
simple research. Registrant’s claim to First Use is nullified by the New York
Times usage and his further claim to consistent use is nullified by the
attached survey and a simple Google search.
This misguided granting of the
ownership of the term Nollywood to the Registrant is going to cause havoc for
thousands of legitimate businesses around the world (It has already sent an
aspect of my business on a downward spiral through Registrant’s C & D,
resulting in the loss of hundreds of Dollars). Even the Nigerian Federal
Government support of the Nollywood industry through ProjectNollywood.com is
now threatened through the use of the name. Another party or agency with
adequate resources may take up the challenge in a new filing at a future date.
I reserve the right, if I can, to join such new filing at a later date.”
TTAB’s response
Unfortunately it didn’t show much
sympathy to the petitioner. The cancellation petition was not only terminated
but also dismissed with prejudice for
failure to follow Rule
2.114(c). So, it seems the petitioner may not get a second bite at the Nollywood
cherry. Anyway, let’s see if the ‘nollywood’ trade mark owner will be able to maintain
the mark on the register and take enforcement actions where/when necessary.
The moral of the story for this Leo is this: obtain appropriate
legal advice from the outset (Says Afro Leo, “it’s meant to help not just for
the law but also costs v benefits
analysis which includes having your name, documents and so on all over the internet.”).
