Marc Whitfield, who is a partner at the Taylor Porter law firm, which represents Red River Employees Federal Credit Union, said there are a few things credit unions can do to prevent trademark scuffles.

Get a federal trademark. Credit unions often can get some legal protection by using a slogan or mark consistently over time. But those so-called common law trademarks generally only get protection in the region in which a credit union markets its services. If getting a federal trademark is off the table, a state trademark might be an option, though credit unions operating in more than one state might need to get trademarks in more than one state. And again, if someone else gets a federal-level trademark on an item, you might have trouble using your slogans, logos or other marks outside your existing markets. "You're kind of limited in your ability to expand at that point. You are limited to the areas you're already marketing your service and already serving," Whitfield explained.
Beware consumer confusion. If people are coming into a branch to open an account and they think they're somewhere else, that's a red flag. "That's a pretty good indicator that there is some confusion about your trademark possibly," he said.
Understand vigilance requirements. "Trademark law's a little bit unusual," Whitfield said. "It puts a burden upon the trademark owner that kind of essentially says that if you do not go out and police your trademark — and that means stopping everybody that you see coming along, or at least acting in a reasonable manner to stop everyone who's coming along who starts to use very similar trademarks — if you don't police it, then you will lose it and will find that it's kind of fallen into the public domain."
Don't ignore threats to sue. Don't bow down to someone if you have protected legal rights that allow you to do exactly what you're doing, but be sure to maintain some perspective, Whitfield noted. "When you get that cease-and-desist letter, clearly the most important thing is to be responsive and to try to see what you can do to accommodate any concerns the [complainant] may have and to work out some resolution as quickly as possible if you can," he said. "The litigation itself is extremely expensive, and it's a big resource drain. Most people do not want to go through that. It is just very unpleasant."

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Several Credit Unions Embroiled in Trademark Lawsuits

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