A China-based producer of tea has filed a trademark application at the USPTO, seeking the registration of the stylized mark KINGSCOM.
The mark consists of a stylized word “Kingscom” within a lengthened circle. According to the application, the mark is intended to cover the categories of candies; Honey; Sugar; Tea; Cereal-based snack food; Fondants; Propolis for food purposes; Starch syrup; Tea-based beverages.
That’s all nice and dandy, except for the obvious confusion with the domain Kings.com, which is owned by the Sacramento Kings.
But even if the domain were to be Kingscom.com, that belongs to a brand media company completely unrelated to the Chinese trademark applicant.
So what’s going on here?
Domains, brands and trademarks. Photo by Amador Loureiro on Unsplash
It seems that it’s not a unique incident, as Chinese companies with Alibaba or Amazon stores seek to register trademarks that ride on the coattails of important domains by tagging the “COM” at the end.
