How Hasbro Could've Fought in the Automotive Technology Field for the Right to Use the Term AUTOBOT

Interestingly enough, it's common that trademark law, patent law, and copyright law often differentiate between industries. For example: you won't confuse Belle Tires with Belle from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Hence there's typically no case to fight -- simply wouldn't hold any water....

But in the Case of Hasbro, Sometimes a Name Is SO Recognizable, That Even THAT Name Can Be Protected From Other Industries Using It

Like the term "autobot." We've heard it before -- sometimes during those Saturday morning cartoons when we were young. Now we're still hearing it in movie theaters thanks to Michael Bay, and there's no sign of the trend slowing down at all as there even will be a "Bumblebee" Transformers film spin-off coming soon after the latest robot-fighting edition THE LAST KNIGHT explodes into theaters.

Hasbro did flex their mechanical muscles, albeit never having to do anything much about it, against a particular company called Mavizon back in 2010. What makes this interesting is Mavizon is nothing more than an automotive tech company responsible for innovating interface technology in vehicles. They termed one particular product the "AutoBot," which maybe several years ago, Hasbro wouldn't have cared much.

Times change.... And without a doubt, Hasbro would've cared if it wasn't for Mavizon's intuition at the end of the year to change the name of the product to something unique, like Mavia. Something you'd never confuse with big fighting robots.

Keep That in Mind: Just Because Your Product or Service Isn't in the Industry as Another Holding the Rights to the Same Brand Name....

It doesn't mean you're automatically protected. When a brand gets that big, even Transformers-themed Huggies diapers would need permission and approval from Hasbro.

Why Hasbro Had to Suck at Spelling to Avoid Trademark Law Problems

Trademark and copyright law are funny beasts when you think about it, because it's all about the uniqueness of the brand. And there's a fine line between uniqueness and nonsensical-ness! Still, cleverness and cunning are the two Cs of the day for Hasbro's legal department, and as any business trying to brand a product or service, you can take a few cues as to how to name something without getting into any hot water and ensuring the USPTO approves your registration.

You Simply Have to Be BAD at Spelling

This dus nawt meen yoo kneed to goe hogwild. After all, the brand has to make sense. Take a cue from Hasbro, though, for instance, and recognize that they're being clever with their trademarks and words.

The problem with a lot of name brands -- at least original brainstorms of names anyway -- is that they can't be too generic. In other words.... A bumblebee toy (a real bee toy) named, well, Bumblebee would be a stretch as far as trademarking. Because it's not unique. Of course it's a bumblebee. Or else it wouldn't be named as such.

That was largely Hasbro's issue with a lot of the transformers lines they had. A lot of the names were rather generic for good reason: the names were trying to describe specific characteristics. Fair enough. And you can only have so many "Starscreams," "Ironhides" and "Sideswipes" out there before everything starts looking a little trite and over-poetic. In other words, sometimes the transformer names needed to be a bit simpler.

Hasbro didn't want to go with crazy nonsensical names, though. One "Optimus Prime" was going to be enough. "Megatron" was more than enough, too. So instead, they needed to go with more hard-hitting descriptive names without them being generic.

This is where the bad spelling comes in play:

• Tankor
• Demolishor
• Spittor
• Scattorshot
• Grappel

Notice anything funny about the names? They're blatant misspellings of common words. Distinctive. Unique. Yet, you can still tell what the transformers do and who they are. Obviously.

Funny How Changing Just ONE Letter Can Make All the Difference

You can bet Hasbro never had a problem defending their trademarks. After all, no one else would have these particular names. So take note: if you want to be a clever marketer and ensure your legalities are covered.... Just suck at spelling like Hasbro has.

The Odd, Crazy Connection Between Disney's Darkwing Duck and Hasbro

We've been talking a lot about Transformers, and Hasbro, lately, given the marketing for the newest film TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT. Isn't it obvious? Lots of explosions, action, mayhem. Crazy stuff. Everyone loves it, it's a cash-in buy and grab for a brand that's continually selling out like hotcakes even if the stories and films don't seem to suspend disbelief so well. Who cares? We just want to watch Optimus Prime kick some Decepticon butt.

This Particular Story, Though, Will Kick YOUR Butt When You Read It: It's About Disney. You Know, That Other Big Company Known for Lots of Trademark Lawsuits.

And Hasbro wanted to be sure to put all their ducks in a row and ensure they don't get into any legal hot water, especially since Hasbro is a dedicated licensee for plenty of Disney-owned properties. You don't expect Disney to have any stake in the type of work Hasbro does, particularly in the films, although they could given their ownership of Marvel and some of the action you see.

But this isn't necessarily about the Transformers. It's about a cartoon we all love: Darkwing Duck. You remember that cartoon? It just so happens that Hasbro back in 2008 made a smart move with one of their toy lines to never have to worry about any trademark dilution -- because, as you know, Disney's a stickler for a lot of trademark and copyright issues. If Disney or Lucasfilm ever catches anyone using the term light saber, there will be problems.

Rather, Hasbro has redesigned their Generation 1 Darkwing transformer for that exact reason: to ensure there was no confusion between their Darkwing, and Disney's Darkwing (Duck). The redeco was done back 2008, for the Universe Silverbolt line, as they changed the name of the transformer from Darkwing.... To DarkWIND. Clever.

You Can't Confuse DarkWIND With DarkWING (Duck). That's for Sure.

It's sad, though, that Hasbro didn't even think that at some point they should've registered the trademark for "Darkwing" long before Disney started launching their cartoons, starting with Duck Tales, Rescue Rangers, Tailspin -- and, of course, Darkwing Duck.

The thing is you don't think of that. After all, Darkwing Duck is not a transformer. You'll hardly confuse the two. But when it comes to trademark law, trademark dilution is also a big deal. And it just so happens that there's not enough room for two Darkwings in a courtroom.

Good job, Hasbro.