Colorado Rockies Look to Trademark "Rocktober"

The Colorado Rockies enter their first World Series in franchise history on the heels of winning 21 out of their last 22 games, as well as seven straight playoff games. Their opponent, the Boston Red Sox, managed to squeak by the Cleveland Indians in seven games to advance to their second World Series in four years.

Since the Rockies' started their amazing playoff run, the city of Denver and its businesses have been using the term "Rocktober" on everything from billboards to newspaper headlines. But now, the team wants to trademark the term to maintain exclusive rights over its use. On October 4, 2007, the Rockies filed a trademark application for "Rocktober" for the mark to be used on everything from stuffed animals to t-shirts.

Because playoff baseball only occurs during the month of October, the Rockies hope that they beat the Red Sox this year and make the playoffs in future years to provide for additional opportunities to sell all things "Rocktober".

MTV Sued Overseas

MTV has had a prominent presence in the United States since the station launched in 1981. Since launching, the music channel has expanded into several countries overseas with seemingly no problems.

When MTV recently attempted to expand into Hungary, though, the station was met with resistance. Hungary’s leading public television station, Magyar Televizio, with its initials "MTV", is suing MTV Music Television for trademark infringement. Magyar Televizio is claiming that it has been using "MTV" as its initials for decades and currently has the initials registered with the Hungarian Patent Office. Most countries' trademark law gives a trademark owner the right to exclude others from using a mark which may be confusingly similar to its own mark.

Will trademark infringement kill the music video star?