Copyright Infringment - Research Paper Example

The trademark infringement by U-Haul caused confusion, mistake and commotion through creation of an impression that its services and products were produced or distributed by PODS. U-Haul misused PODS trademark after it had unsuccessfully attempted to acquire it in 2007 and gained access to private data concerning the company. U-Haul argued that the manner in which it used pods was not associated with the unsuccessful acquisition of PODS while further arguing that pods is a generic term and thus the PODS trademark should have been revoked.

Copyright infringement is defined as a use of work under the protection of copyright law without authorization therefore impinging on particular exclusive rights accorded to the holder of the copyright. According to the essay, cases of trademark infringement are usually complex and very expensive with the one associated with U-Haul and PODS having almost three hundred entries while at the same time being comprised of numerous orders, motions and depositions of professional witnesses. Such cases are decided in the basis of whether a normal customer can mistake the trademark for a different product (Packard, 2013).

This makes such cases extremely challenging to prove since trademarks should be unique words and not descriptive words in order to make them easier to prove. The PODS trial focused on how the word pods is defined and used while assessing whether the company’s trademarks were protectable. At the end of the trial, PODS was pleased with the decision of the jury.