"If you stop defending your trademark every time, then you lose it.."
But is suing really the only way to defend a trademark? If what you say is true, why don't we see a lot more of these? It can't be that hard to come up with similar "trade mark infringements" that nobody cares about? Or??
Yes. After a trademark has been granted, suing is the way you defend your trademark. Also, there have been more of these...a lot more. Perhaps you remember Apple suing NYC over their NYC Green apple logo or the Victoria School of Business and Technology over their apple-shaped logo or Woolworths Limited over their logo? ...and those are just the ones conveniently listed on the list of trademark litigation from this wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._litigation#Trademark...
We are only getting second- and third-hand reports, but the typical opener is to send a letter to the offender telling them to stop. Saying hello with a lawsuit gets expensive.
But is suing really the only way to defend a trademark? If what you say is true, why don't we see a lot more of these? It can't be that hard to come up with similar "trade mark infringements" that nobody cares about? Or??