Pannell-Christ, a US provider of consulting and training
services, has sued Priceline.com, the auction web site which
operates a reverse auction web site (where the buyers say what they
want and how much they will pay; the sellers then compete for the
business). The site provides a “Name your own price” service for
groceries and airline tickets. It has been sued by Pannell-Christ
for its use of the phrases “Name Your Price” and “Name Your Own
Price.”
Pannell-Christ argues that it used the phrase “Name Your Price!” over the past five years. However, the company did not register a trade mark for the phrase until after Priceline.com was in operation and using the slogan in 1998. The trade mark was registered in February of this year.
Pannell-Christ says it is often confused with Priceline.com, to the detriment of its business. The company argues that, due to the high profile enjoyed by Priceline.com, people believe it is Pannell-Christ that have stolen the phrase.
Brian Ek, vice president of communications for Priceline.com, is reported as having said: “The long and short of it is that the slogans are not likely to be confused... Pannell-Christ uses the phrases in motivational speaking. We conducted a trade mark search in 1998 and no restrictions or regulations were found on the phrases.”
Pannell-Christ points out that Priceline.com tried four times to register the phrases without success. It is seeking damages, legal costs, several injunctions (court orders to stop continued use of the phrases) and a royalty based on Priceline.com’s revenues.
Independent observers suggest that the slogan may be considered too generic for continued trade mark protection.
For further information on trade mark infringement, See our guide on Branding and Intellectual Property.
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