@bigkid posted:From what I know from business law (and maybe the lawyers on here can speak about it more clearly), with trademark infringement , there needs to be pretty specific claims to make the charge stick:1)That a reasonable man (that old legal chestnut) could assume to associate the said trademark on another product with the other one. So obviously, if someone started an airline called "Pan American" or "Pan Am", without the consent of the rights holder (and someone does hold that right), it would be infringement. There also is the concept of endorsement, like if I use a name and that there is some reason to think people might think it is an endorsement (the 4 seasons case rested on, I believe, 2 things 1)that the burger joint would gain from associating its name with a swanky 4 star restaurant in NYC and 2)that the 4 seasons in NY would be harmed that a burger joint has the same name. Pretty sure the case was thrown out or the court found for the burger place). There are hotels called 4 seasons all over the place from what I recall.
There are plenty of Pan Am's out there, was even before airline went kaput. Trucking company, plumbing services, etc, had that name. A bus company might have implications, with some sort of association that the bus company was as good as Pan Am airways, but it would be a difficult case to prove because they are so different. Names are also different than things like logos, a trucking company using the Pan Am logo would be held in infringement, because the logo would imply some connection to the holder.
Obviously you can sue over anything and hope you can get a favorable judge. BNSF I seem to recall sued model traincompan ies for using their various trademarks/paint schemes, and it could be the corporate beancounters looking to get every dime they can out of their 'property'. I don't think BNSF could argue the Northern Pacific Airlines hurt their business, since the railroad disappeared a long time ago, it more than likely is wanting some sort of money to license the name.
I've often wondered about the process (and cost) for model train companies to get approval for using trademarked railroad names. I seem to recall there was an issue several years ago with a license to use the Maersk name and at that time (2015?) there would be no more Maersk model train items made.
