Entrepreneur Sues Entrepreneurs

At the beginning of this year, I decided to start publishing my own monthly magazine.  It would feature Expert Interviews, Book Reviews and other articles and content to help entrepreneurs achieve success.

Having come up with the concept, all that was left was to pick a name for my magazine.

I’m very familiar with both “Entrepreneur” magazine and “Success” magazine, but I’ve never heard of “Entrepreneur Success” magazine.  A Google search revealed that no magazine exists with that title, so I figured I was home-free (although I was amazed that a magazine with that name didn’t already exist).

A business associate of mine recommended I have an attorney conduct a trademark search — but I was convinced that since “Entrepreneur Success” magazine couldn’t be found anywhere on Google, it must be available for my use.

Oops.

In my “ignorance is bliss” state of mind, I proceeded to have hundreds of copies of my inaugural issue of “Entrepreneur Success” magazine printed and readied for mailing.  I took a few dozen with me to Florida a couple of weeks ago to give out to leading entrepreneurs and marketing experts like Dan Kennedy, Rich Schefren and others at two events I attended.

And then it happened…

One top marketer I proudly handed my magazine to took one look at my chosen title and instantly started shaking his head.  He suggested I check out articles like these…

Entrepreneur Magazine’s History Of Suing Entrepreneurs For Using …

www.iaweo.com9/25/12

Trademarking the word “entrepreneur” seems particularly ridiculous, and BusinessWeek recently ran an excellent article detailing Entrepreneur Magazine’s history of suing entrepreneurs for using the word entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur magazine sues another for using … – Talking Biz News

www.talkingbiznews.com2/29/12

Michael del Castillo writes for Portfolio.com that Entrepreneur magazine is suing another magazine called CEO Entrepreneur Magazine for using the word entrepreneur. Del Castillo writes, “From EMI’s perspective though, the …

Entrepreneur Magazine Sues an Entrepreneur » Center for Ethics …

www.ethicsandentrepreneurship.org8/15/11

Entrepreneur Media, Inc. is suing Daniel R. Castro for using the domain name “EntrepreneurOlogy.com.” According to Entrepreneur Media’s lawyers, his clients hold the trademark on the word “entrepreneur.” Read Paul M.

Entrepreneur, the Magazine That Sues Entrepreneurs | Accounting …

bjconquest.com5/21/11

Everyone, read this…it is off the charts! Did you know the word “entrepreneur” is trademarked? Neither did I or did most I will assume. “The curious case of Entrepreneur Media Inc., which never rests in its quest to nurture—and …

Entrepreneur MEntrepreneur Media continues to sue entrepreneurs who use the …

domainnamewire.com7/3/12

Got ‘entrepreneur‘ in your name? If you publish information to help entrepreneurs, you might be sued. Entrepreneur Media (EMI), the company that publishes Entrepreneur magazine, continues to file lawsuits against people …

PenPoint Group – 5 reasons the word “entrepreneur” is all wrong

penpointgroup.com7/15/11

It’s just begging for a lawsuit. This is where things get serious. As BusinessWeek reported recently, EMI, the company behind Entrepreneur magazine, has a history of suing entrepreneurs who use its trademarked (!) term.

Entrepreneur Magazine Has Trademarked The Word “Entrepreneur…

www.businessinsider.com  5/20/11

Entrepreneur Magazine has a trademark on the word “entrepreneur,” and is suing some businesses that use it. In 1979, Entrepreneur’s founder, Chase Revel, got a U.S. trademark for the word “entrepreneur.” Since then he …

Entrepreneur Magazine a Trademark Bully… to Entrepreneurs…

tacticalip.com5/28/11

It seems as though Entrepreneur Magazine, which publishes a magazine geared towards the interests of, wait for it, wait for it – entrepreneurs, is suing entrepreneurs for trademark infringement. As I was initially reading the …

That was enough for me.  I immediately changed the name of my magazine.

You can check out the inaugural issue of my “Money-Making Monthly” magazine here.

Oh — and yes, I had an attorney do a trademark search for that name, and it’s in now the process of being registered.

What do you think?

Does it make sense for anyone to own a trademark on the word “entrepreneur”?

Do you think it’s right for the publishers of “Entrepreneur” magazine to have a habit of suing entrepreneurs?

Does any of this change your opinion of Entrepreneur magazine?