[chopsueyar]

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm

7. What constitutes tradenmark infringement?

If a party owns the rights to a particular trademark, that party can sue subsequent parties for trademark infringement. 15 U.S.C. �� 1114, 1125. The standard is "likelihood of confusion." To be more specific, the use of a trademark in connection with the sale of a good constitutes infringement if it is likely to cause consumer confusion as to the source of those goods or as to the sponsorship or approval of such goods. In deciding whether consumers are likely to be confused, the courts will typically look to a number of factors, including: (1) the strength of the mark; (2) the proximity of the goods; (3) the similarity of the marks; (4) evidence of actual confusion; (5) the similarity of marketing channels used; (6) the degree of caution exercised by the typical purchaser; (7) the defendant's intent.

They sued a priest!

[bhousel]

They sued a priest driving around in a black Volkswagon Beetle with a God Squad logo that looks exactly like the Geek Squad logo.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but Best Buy did the right and necessary thing to defend their trademark.

[chopsueyar]

I can't tell you how many times I accidentally called the God Squad to fix my computer, thinking it was in fact, the Geek Squad.

[hugh3]

Not the point.

The point is that if they allow "God squad" to pass without comment, then they'll have to allow "Hot Dog Squad" as well. And then "Pho Squad" and "Grog Squad" will show up, followed by "Mop Squad" and "Pizza Squad" and "Gutter Cleaning Guy Squad". Pretty soon someone opens up a "Dork Squad" which is actually a Geek Squad competitor, but with the roads clogged with black and white and orange Beetles providing squad-themed services, there'll be enough precedent that it'll be impossible to defend.

That's a somewhat exaggerated scenario, but it's essentially the logic behind these apparently overly sensitive trademark defense cases.

[ZachPruckowski]

The priest thing seems more legit to me than the Newegg thing. The priests were deliberately trying to "cash in"[1] on similarity between their brand and the Geek Squad brand, whereas Newegg was just trying to use the positive associations between the work "geek" (which Best Buy doesn't own) and computer buying.

[1] - Personally I think there should be accommodations for the fact that it's non-commercial.

[lutorm]

The "God squad" reminds me more of the "Mod squad", both in literal similarity and in the implementation. Maybe it's BestBuy who's on shaky ground here?

[nhangen]

Yeah, because as we all know, that priests are all about raking in the Benjamins.

[ZachPruckowski]

I'm not saying it makes for a good lawsuit or that Best Buy aren't dicks for pursuing it, but "God Squad" in a black-and-white car that's the same model as the Geek Squad car is sort of leaning on the brand at least.

[chopsueyar]

Is it confusing to you, as a consumer?