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I invented a new product that is related to a improvement on a existing product - the Philips Sonicare toothbrush.
Anonymous1 views3 answers
The existing product is made by the Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush group. Their brand name is Sonicare makers of the sonic tooohbrush, my companys name would be SonicBoom my product would be in direct competition with Sonicare, I will be selling replacement toothbrush heads that work on their system of electric toothbrush but at a much lower retail price.........My Question is... would it be OK for me to use the name Sonic Boom as my brand name?? I have seen that the word Sonic toothbrush is currently being used by Oral B group on their electric toothbrush and on Philips Sonicare , Oral B is Phillips direct competition.
Please help?
You need trademark and possibly patent clearance for your product. Both are beyond the scope of this venue. Assuming your product makes it to market, you could do quite well. You really should get an attorney on board to help with your business venture.
The below does not constitute legal advice, does not form an attorney-client relationship, and should not be relied upon to take or refrain from taking any action.
You definitely need to consult an attorney. There are really two questions here: first, whether your use of Sonic Boom to describe your replacement brush head would infringe the Sonicare trademark, and second, even if the answer to the first question is no, whether Philips will file a trademark infringement action against you to stop you from using the Sonic Boom mark. Based on the limited facts, it appears the answer to #1 is maybe, and the answer to #2 is almost certainly.
Philips owns an incontestable federal registration for SONICARE in connection with toothbrushes. Further, while you are correct that Oral B uses the term "Sonic Toothbrush," they provide a disclaimer on their website that the SONICARE trademark is owned by Philips. Given that your proposed toothbrush heads would be in direct competition with the Philips Sonicare's replacement heads, it is a near certainty Philips would assert Sonic Boom would infringe their SONICARE mark.
In addition to the potential trademark infringement concerns, there are also patent concerns here as well. Philips has many utility and design patents covering their toothbrushes. I've linked a few below. You should have a patent attorney do a clearance search to minimize the likelihood you will be found to infringe one of Philips (or another company's) patents as well.
Kurt has provided you with an excellent answer.
In addition to speaking with an intellectual property attorney, there is no downside in doing your own research to learn how to commercialize your invention. The following two sites provide links to good resources: http://tr.im/mgUG http://tr.im/mgUX
