In Peaceable Planet, Inc. v. TY, Inc., 362 F.3d 986, Judge Posner distinguishes the personal-name rule from a trademark infringement action brought by the maker of a plush camel named Niles:

In thinking about the applicability of the rationale of the personal-name rule to the present case, we should notice first of all that camels, whether real or toy, do not go into business. Peaceable Planet's appropriation of the name “Niles” for its camel is not preventing some hapless camel in the Sahara Desert who happens to be named “Niles” from going into the water-carrier business under its own name. The second thing to notice is that “Niles” is not a very common name; in fact it is downright rare. And the third thing to notice is that if it were a common name, still there would be no danger that precluding our hypothetical Saharan water carrier from using its birth name “Niles” would deprive that camel's customers of valuable information. In short, the rationale of the personal-name rule is wholly inapplicable to this case.