I'm not overly surprised. US patent and trade mark attorneys troll the world
looking for common usage words, then enable a company to patent or register
the trademark in the USA. Then issue writs against businesses using those
words in advertising or in their business names.

Two come to my mind just recently - "Uggboots " which is a common name for a
sheepskin boot made by several hundred businesses in Australia. All have
recently received "cease, desist and payup" demands from the US company
which has trade marked in the US the common Australian name for that type of
boot.

The other was a beach wear company based in Sydney "Absolut Beach Wear" they
received an injunction issued by a court in New York requiring them to stop
using the name "Absolut", hand over the website they had, and release the
business name which had been registered in Australia to the US based
attorneys acting on behalf of "Absolut Vodka". They had been tried and found
guilty in absentia and did not have the financial backing to fight the
matter.

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