Mary Carey trademark update

I earlier wrote about the trademark issues between Mary Carey and Mariah Carey. Mary Carey (the porn star, not to be confused with Mariah the singer) appeared on the Howard Stern Show on Sirius (yes, I am a subscriber). The issue of the trademark dispute came up, and everyone wondered how the dispute could actually exist- in that they sound different, do different types of entertainment, etc. All of which agrees with my earlier article. A "patent attorney from Pittsburgh" called in and said that under a likelihood of confusing test, where the marks are compared, they are confusingly similar.

It appears that our esteemed patent attorney missed the doctrine of laches. That basically states if you wait too long to bring a claim, you lose the right to do so. IMHO, Mariah Carey has waited too long to lodge any complaints. Mary Carey has been really big in the news for at least 3-4 years, in porn as well as the gubernatorial elections here in California. I even recall seeing a picture of Mary Carey promoting the re-election of President Bush in 2004, using her porn name.

Mary, who may have been drinking a little for the show, also claimed that she got the name "Carey" because of her crazy antics- like that of Jim Carey. I'm not sure if that argument will fly, but they point out many porn star names that are similar to those of other famous people- such as Arnold Schwartzenpecker- so Mariah may be a little late getting to the "stop Mary Carey" party.

More details as this case develops....