–Sharon Armstrong, Attorney

Thinking about filing a trademark opposition against a competitor’s pending trademark application? Thinking about filing a civil suit against a competitor’s corresponding trademark use? Often, upon the filing of a civil trademark suit and a request to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”), the TTAB will suspend the opposition pending the

Tough times call for tough decisions. Brand managers know this as well as anyone, and they are certainly facing some very tough decisions during these challenging economic times.

Sometimes shrinking the workforce is considered to be in the best interest of the brand. For example, last week, Carter’s, the parent company of OshKosh B’Gosh, announced that it would be trimming the workforce in order to improve the efficiency and profitability of the iconic — and more than century old — brand.

Brand managers also may be asked to re-evaluate their brand protection strategies in order to cut costs. Given a recent competing brand that appears to have gone unchallenged by OshKosh B’Gosh®, one has to wonder if there is a willingness to shrink the B’Gosh® brand in addition to the workforce.

Returning from a trip to Washington, D.C., for a pair of oral arguments at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), I did some speed-shopping for my daughter at a neat little boutique in Bethesda, Maryland, called The Blue House (I highly recommend it). Without paying attention to brand at all, or even looking at the hangtag or label (okay, I had to catch a plane), I picked up a really cute outfit I thought she’d just love. I was actually right, this time. In fact, she is so taken by it and some other items sold under this brand online, she not very happy that I am writing this post right now. Oh well, duty calls.

Anyway, when I got home and unpacked the outfit I noticed the hangtag for the first time, and honestly, my first thought was, is this a modern rendition of the B’Gosh® brand? After a closer look, I began to wonder whether it is an extension or somehow related to the B’Gosh® brand? It wasn’t until visiting the brand’s website and conducting some searches on the Trademark Office database that I was able to satisfy myself, no apparent connection. In case you’re wondering, no image of the outfit, but I did scan an image of the hangtag and it is viewable after the jump.Continue Reading Baby B’Gosh® : A Shrinking Outfit, Workforce, and Brand Too?