Shelly Albaum
Nov 10, 2020
Okay, here's a weird coincidence.
Elysium has a new product, "Index," which is an epigenetic testing kit. I know that's what Index is, because Elysium filed a trademark application last year, and that's what it says:
When you file a trademark application, it gets published, and competitors who may already be using that mark have an opportunity to oppose your registration. That's what happened to Elysium.
A company that sells medical gloves -- the Showa Glove Company -- has a numbered of trademarked products, including one called N-DEX:
and apparently Showa thinks that Elysium's "Index" is too close to their gloves -- there might be a risk of confusion.
I'm no expert in trademark law, but I would have thought this wouldn't amount to a very strong opposition, because gloves are really different from health supplements, even if they both are related to health. So I would not view this is a particularly serious problem for Elysium.
But what caught my eye was the law firm representing Showa Glove against Elysium Health:
Do you see that? Baker Hostetler. The very firm that used to represent Elysium in our California and New York litigation is now representing Elysium's opponent in a trademark matter that I would have thought was way too small for the attention of a firm like Baker Hostetler.
What are the odds?
It's just a coincidence, though. Showa has been using Baker Hostetler for a number of trademark challenges since 2018 -- Showa has challenged five other marks in the past couple years, all with the help of Baker Hostetler:
For example,
I can't imagine Elysium was thrilled to see their old lawyers on the other side of this trademark challenge. Fancy meeting you here! Such a small world!