800 ruling bans blocking of generic terms
Article Abstract:
800 Spirits Inc.'s (1-800-Spirits) case against competitor Liquor by Wire Inc. on the the latter's use of the telephone number 1-800-Spirited faces dismissal after a New Jersey Court ruled that trademarks using 800 with a generic term cannot prevent the use of similar telephone numbers. The ruling states that Illinois-based Liquor by Wire is permitted to use the toll-free number 1-800-Spirited in its international liquor and gift delivery business. Justifying the ruling, the court stated that fair competition is curbed when a business prevents the use of a toll-free phone number by developing rights to trademark comprising 800, 888 or 877 followed by a generic term.
Publication Name: DM News
Subject: Construction and materials industries
ISSN: 0194-3588
Year: 1998
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QVC leverages call center resources for Internet
Article Abstract:
QVC of West Chester, PA, has decided to combine its toll-free supported Personal Shopper line and its online site, iQVC, to create a large scale call center operation via the Internet. IQVC, which debuted December 1996 with a recorded 2,000 hits a month, answers demand with a product list including everything that QVC offers and more. QVC's ventures into electronic commerce has generated over 2 million shopping transactions monthly, with per-month sales over $5 million. Computer-based training and interactive training provide agents with a new level of expertise and is reportedly the main factor to the success of the conversion process.
Publication Name: DM News
Subject: Construction and materials industries
ISSN: 0194-3588
Year: 1998
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic: