Pattend Pending: Word - Question

[rugged]

New York -

I was using a word ie: "Rainbow" on some shirts.
I got a legal letter saying that someone from California has the word "Rainbow" in Patten & Pending, and I should stop using the word on my shirts.

Also they sent me another document saying there logo is Registered as "Ra!nbow" - Which I have no idea what that has to do with me using the word "Rainbow"

Can I still use the word "Rainbow" or since they have a Pending Patten I cant?

Any help is much appreciated. - Thanks

 

[divgradcurl]

New York -

I was using a word ie: "Rainbow" on some shirts.
I got a legal letter saying that someone from California has the word "Rainbow" in Patten & Pending, and I should stop using the word on my shirts.

Also they sent me another document saying there logo is Registered as "Ra!nbow" - Which I have no idea what that has to do with me using the word "Rainbow"

Can I still use the word "Rainbow" or since they have a Pending Patten I cant?

Any help is much appreciated. - Thanks

You can't patent a word. Perhaps they are attempting to trademark the use of the word "rainbow" for a particular purpose on a T-shirt, and have a pending trademark application. If that's the case, you can see if they have obtained any sort of registration by searching the database at www.uspto.gov.

If they don't have a registered mark, there is nothing they can enforce against you -- you cannot enforce a "pending" mark. A pending mark is nothing more than an application for a mark -- unless and until the registration is granted, there is nothing to enforce. However, if they do have a mark pending, once they do receive a registration, they can enforce it immediately, so you might want to take that into consideration before you start accumulating inventory and advertising your product.