LittleCast, a video player for Facebook videos, has applied for its App Icon trademark on September 11, 2013. It is so generic that should the USPTO allows this trademark, LittleCast will have difficulties pursuing copycats unless the copycat uses exactly the same image. Why? The trademark is too broad, using the universally-accepted ‘play’ button image. No one can be barred from the universally-recognized ‘play’ button.
Query whether Google’s YouTube App Icon (unregistered as a trademark) will impede LittleCast’s registration, as the colors and orientation are so similar:
If the USPTO does allows LittleCast’s trademark application, then we can infer that LittleCast’s protection is narrow, limited to the colors and orientation of the triangle inside the circle. Stay tuned!
