One interesting case I'd like to share (not sure how it applies to baseball cards in particular, but I found it interesting nonetheless), is the Esterbrook fountain pen company.
They ceased operations in 1971, but someone recently was able to revive the company by filing for the Esterbook trademark, which had been abandoned. Trademarks like Esterbook are called "graveyard trademarks".
Now, if one collects fountain pens, you would have to differentiate between the original, old Esterbook company, and the modern reincarnation, that has nothing to do with the original company. They are technically the "same" entity because they share the exact name, but in practice (and probably philosophically), they are not the same Esterbook.
It's interesting, because several trading card companies in recent memory have ceased operations and their trademarks are counting down to expiration.
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