Problem
I. Single-color marks are protectable, but not inherently distinctive. Explain why this is a sensible rule, that is, explain what could go wrong if single-color marks were not protectable, what could go wrong if single-color marks were allowed to be protected without secondary meaning, and how requiring secondary meaning balances the competing interests at stake.
II. Zoom Video Communications (ZVC) uses both the word ZOOM and the following logo for their video conferencing services. Evaluate the distinctiveness of the word ZOOM for video conferencing services. Then do the same for the logo. (Note: In both cases, evaluate distinctiveness as of December 2019.)
The following are some facts that may be relevant to your analysis:
i. ZVC was founded in 2011 and the Zoom software first distributed in 2013. By December 2019, the service had about 11 million active users and 10 million meeting participants per day, worldwide, with the majority of these being in the United States. More than 90% of those users were corporate users rather than individual users, meaning that their accounts were set up and paid for by their employers. In 2019, ZVC spent about $15 million in advertising, almost entirely directed at potential corporate clients. ZVC's 2019 revenue was $331 million. There was some media coverage of ZVC's April 2019 IPO in the business news, but relatively little coverage of Zoom in media directed at a general audience in 2019.
ii. Some competing services and their corresponding logos include: FaceTime , Skype , and Google Meet . instruction (SUBMIT ONE TO TWO PAGES ANSWER)
III. Consider the mark CITIBANK for banking services. First, make an argument that the mark is descriptive. Then, make an argument that the mark is suggestive. Which do you think is the better argument?