Brand Bully

The terms brand bully and trademark bully refer to large corporations that use legal intimidation techniques to harass and threaten smaller companies when they perceive that smaller companies are trying to infringe on their trademark, such as with a similar product name or branding element. Often, brand bullies threaten litigation through cease-and-desist (C&D) letters, hoping that the smaller organization(s)—with fewer resources to enter into an expensive, drawn-out legal battle—will be cowed into discontinuing use of the trademark in question. Often, these large corporations argue that they are simply protecting important trademarks and brand elements, but the public typically views the larger corporation as a bully, unfairly wielding its power on a much smaller organization that is not a realistic threat. One of the additional challenges ...