Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Trademark Law with a Side of '90s Nostalgia.

Did you hear? Kozmo.com is back. Sort of. A few months after DC tore down the last vestiges of the short-lived VC darling, the Kozmo website has been brought back to life. But despite a landing page asking "Remember us?" and the familiar orange and green colors, this isn't your older brother's Kozmo. No, the entity behind the new Kozmo is a California-based grocer that is trying to reanimate everyone's favorite same-day-delivery brand. But how far is too far? Putting aside the question of whether Kozmo retains residual goodwill (or whether such a thing even exists), should the law nonetheless frown upon a new owner trying to confuse the public that the same "us" is behind the new venture as the old? Assuming that the original team behind Kozmo has moved on and doesn't want to bring a Lanham Act claim, should those who knew and loved Kozmo nevertheless have a right not to be mislead about the relationship between the new and old ventures?