Denise Whiting, owner of Café Hon in Baltimore, announced this week she would abandon her trademark claim on the word “Hon.” Personally, I thought the trademark claim was a bad business decision and somewhat of an affront to the Hon culture.

As a transplant from the D.C. suburbs, I have taken to Baltimore because of its blue-collar work ethic, eclectic personality and this weird appeal of the “City that Reads” you can truly appreciate only if you live here. To me, “Hon” is Baltimore, something that could not be trademarked or owned.

(I also thought, however, that I would rather eat at nearby Golden West Cafe, so my boycott of Café Hon was largely a culinary decision and not one of true protest.)

As an attorney, however, I wanted to know the actual law on the issue instead of relying on news reports. Fortunately for me, the answer was within easy reach.

I walked down the hall at my office recently to go straight to The Source — or, in this case, The Sources: Kimberly Grimsley and Pamela Riewerts, two trademark lawyers in our Intellectual Property Department at Bowie & Jensen.  Here are the pertinent parts of our conversation:

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Gina Kim and the Coach handbag she bought.

You can ask anyone that knows me — there are not that many things that can bring me as much joy as shopping.

I know, it sounds shallow, but I can’t help it. I adore shopping, and all the tasks associated with finding and purchasing that “perfect” item. Fashion and style has long been one of my passions. If I could sit at home and fawn over style magazines, review blogs, and develop post after post of my own outfits, I would certainly love to do so.

But, alas, a girl’s got to eat (and shop obviously) so, therefore, my world of billable hours drones on.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported on a seemingly trite issue. A 31-year old student and Coach employee, Gina Kim, bought a $428 handbag with her employee discount. She realized she was constantly hesitant to use it due to the white material and her fear of it getting stained.

What did she decide to do? Like many others, she put it on eBay, hoping to find the designer handbag a different home. Um, WSJ, why are you reporting on this again? The news world slow that day? Well, here’s why — shortly after Gina submitted her eBay ad, she received a cease-and-desist letter from a law firm representing Coach.

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