Yesterday, Under Consideration’s Brand New Blog discussed the redesign of the Nickelodeon trademark. Nickelodeon has decided to drop the well known splat design that encapsulated the NICKELODEON term. As reported by Under Consideration, Nickelodeon’s “splat” has existed in one form or another for over 15 years. Although the orange “splat” has evolved over the years, it was a… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: September 2009
The P-Word
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, TrademarksIt’s a jungle out there in corporate America. A hot, steamy, ardent, passionate jungle. You’ve seen the evidence. Whole Foods is hiring “people with a passion for healthy living.” Bose seeks “people with a passion for innovation.” The South Florida Water Management District wants “good people with a passion for water.” Grant Thornton is looking… Continue Reading
True Lies, Trademark Fraud, and the Medinol Detour
Posted in Almost Advice, Law Suits, Loss of Rights, Trademarks, TTABTrademark types: As promised, here are some of my more detailed thoughts and perspectives (at least for the time being) on the most significant trademark case of the year: In re Bose. Thanks to Thomson Reuters for asking me to share them with their readers. I look forward to some great dialogue on the likely… Continue Reading
Kleenex® Not Wanting to Blow It: Some Steps to Avoid Trademark Genericide
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, TrademarksThis sponsored banner ad is currently appearing in AdAge’s Daily News on-line newsletter: How many boxes of tissue do you suppose this ad is responsible for selling? If the answer is none, that is probably fine with Kimberly-Clark since the return on investment for this ad is measured quite differently, I’m sure, given how the frequently misused Kleenex®… Continue Reading
“Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner”
Posted in Famous Marks, Law Suits, Marketing, TrademarksThis summer has seen popular icons pass away such as Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett as we have discussed in earlier blog posts. With the recent passing of “Dirty Dancing” star Patrick Swayze last week, I am reminded of his famous saying “Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner” : Two years ago this famous saying was… Continue Reading
Holiday Inn’s Relaunch: Do We Have a Problem, Houston?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Look-For Ads, TrademarksTime for me to play dumb consumer and ask an honest question. What is the conventional wisdom in relaunching or revitalizing a brand: do you tell consumers that you’re doing it, or not? I suspect that there is no universal answer, but Holiday Inn’s "relaunch" has admittedly caught my attention. (It caught Steve’s attention here.) … Continue Reading
Experiences of an Altered Reality
Posted in Branding, Copyrights, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Sight, TrademarksAn entire experience designed as an altered reality. Sounds like science fiction, but drop yourself into Las Vegas and you will likely see the world from a new perspective. The full bombardment of your senses is real but nothing around you really is. You feel real marble inside palaces meant to emulate palaces in Rome…. Continue Reading
From Trademark to Tin God: Long Live the King?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Television, TrademarksA few years ago, the world was introduced to arguably the creepiest fast food mascot of all time: The King. For many of us, this introduction came courtesy of a frightening commercial suggesting that we "Wake Up With The King." Over the following years, TK expanded his popularity. He went from our bedrooms to our… Continue Reading
Blue Oval, But Look Mom, No Words!
Posted in Branding, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, TrademarksWhat does this image signify to you? For full credit, please answer the question before peeking back at Dan’s popular post called "I See Blue Ovals."
Who’s Your Patty? or Where’s Who’s Your Patty?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Dilution, Domain Names, Food, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, TrademarksAs promised, here are some additional thoughts (beyond the very frank and practical non-legal advice already shared by Jason Voiovich) about Lion’s Tap’s trademark infringement case against McDonald’s over the "Who’s Your Patty?" slogan. Here’s the multi-million dollar question: What did McDonald’s know and when did they know it? Those are questions likely to get a lot of… Continue Reading
Green Men – Viral Marketing Stunt or Just Funny Outfits?
Posted in MarketingEarlier this week, while walking through the sky-way in downtown Minneapolis, I saw three people dressed in neon green bodysuits from head to toe. The green men were just milling around with people in line to catch a bus during the evening rush hour. I automatically thought it was a viral marketing stunt (see guest blogger Allison… Continue Reading
Genericide Watch: Frisbee, Hula Hoop, Slip ‘N Slide, and Super Ball
Posted in GenericideWham-O, Inc. has had its share of hits over the years, achieving "household name" status (my opinion) with an impressive list of trademarked (I am not afraid to use it as a verb) products: FRISBEE for "toy flying saucers for toss games" HULA HOOP for "plastic toy hoops" SUPER BALL for "sport and toy balls" SLIP ‘N SLIDE for a "flexible plastic water slide"… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Asked to Review Washington Redskins Trademark Case
Posted in Advertising, Branding, First Amendment, Law Suits, Marketing, Trademarks, TTABBack in May, I wrote a piece entitled "Re-Branding Madness in Washington" Overlooks Obvious: The Washington Redskins," discussing the trademark cancellation action that I filed on behalf of seven prominent Native American leaders back in September 1992 (Harjo et al v. Pro-Football, Inc.), and calling for the football team to "hire a branding guru to engage… Continue Reading
When You Need To Enforce Your Trademark Rights, Forget It (Maybe)
Posted in Almost Advice, GenericideYellow Book USA, Inc. has embarked on a marketing campaign telling consumers to “Yellowbook It” when they need to search for something. Although Yellow Book USA, Inc. does not own a federal registration for YELLOWBOOK, its does use the ™ symbol behind the term on its Web site to signal to consumers that it is… Continue Reading
Bridging the Brand Consultant-Client Divide
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, MarketingFrom My Cousin Vinny: Vinny Gambini: I object to this witness being called at this time. We’ve been given no prior notice he would testify. No discovery of any tests he’s conducted or reports he’s prepared. And as the court is aware, the defense is entitled to advance notice of all witnesses who will testify,… Continue Reading
What Does “Trademarked” Mean to You?
Posted in Marketing, TrademarksMore than a few trademark types cringe when their clients or others say things like "let’s trademark it," "they didn’t trademark their logo," or "we don’t want to trademark this name," and, when they ask questions like "is it trademarked?" or "is that trademarked software?" or "did we ever trademark our logo?" or "should we… Continue Reading
Television and Movie Catch Phrases Are Hot Topics For Trademarks
Posted in Advertising, Law Suits, Marketing, Television“Paris Hilton” “That’s Hot” “Catch Phrase” “Catch Phrases” “Hallmark” “Hallmark Cards “Ninth Circuit” Cards Trademarks
My Pants are Smarter than Yours
Posted in TrademarksClothing Harvard “Clothing Line” Wearwolf “Harvard Yard” Pants Sweatshirts
Toys “R” Us, Indeed
Posted in Branding, Domain Names, TrademarksA couple of weeks ago, news reports came out that KB Toys, which had filed for bankruptcy in December, sold its trademarks and domain names to a company called CE Stores LLC for $2.1 million. Last week, Toys "R" Us disclosed that it owns CE Stores. While this may be somewhat unremarkable, consider that Toys "R"… Continue Reading
News Flash: Dilbert on “Trademark Infringement Lawyers”
Posted in Infringement, Law Suits, Squirrelly Thoughts, TrademarksClients and friends have enjoyed passing yesterday’s Dilbert cartoon on to me, just for fun (I think). So, for those of you who weren’t sure we could take not only a lawyer joke, but a "trademark infringement lawyer" joke, read on: Having said that, I think we already demonstrated our ability to self-deprecate with the best… Continue Reading
Counting By Numbers, or Stripes? A Likelihood of Confusion Tale.
Posted in Branding, Domain Names, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, TrademarksWhen it comes to scope of rights and trademark enforcement, as a trademark type, it’s hard not to admire Adidas’ success in preventing the use of two, three, and four stripes, when its long-standing federally-registered design mark consists of three stripes. At least in the U.S., Adidas appears to have gained a one… Continue Reading
Good Luxo
Posted in Branding, Counterfeits, Dilution, Fair Use, Law Suits, Loss of Rights, Product ConfigurationsLuxo AS, a Norwegian light manufacturer and distributor, has sued Disney and Pixar et. al. asserting various trademark-related claims arising from Disney’s and Pixar’s use of the LUXO trademark. In an always interesting case of trademark law/branding meets fair use, Luxo has alleged that Disney/Pixar’s use of "Luxo Jr." to identify the "hopping lamp," which has been the corporate mascot of Pixar… Continue Reading
Lion’s Tap Shouldn’t Have Sued. At Least Not So Soon.
Posted in Advertising, Almost Advice, Branding, Food, Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, TrademarksA brief study in how the Lion’s Tap could have had its burger and eaten it too. I have to say, in the interest of full disclosure, I have an irrational love for the Lion’s Tap. Ever since I worked in Eden Prairie back in the 1990s, I’ve been hooked. Fast forward the better part of… Continue Reading
Re-Branding and Pink Elephants: Doesn’t “Drury Inn” Need a Name Change?
Posted in Mixed Bag of NutsTrying my consumer’s hat on for size this Labor Day, I’ll ask the question: Would you pay good money and choose to stay a night or two in the hotel pictured above, without having a personal recommendation from a very, very good friend? Me neither, says my wife, for our family. Did the name have anything to… Continue Reading
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Duets Blog Authors
Steve Baird
Just so you know, I'm all about brands and the law, both professionally and personally. I regularly annoy family and friends in retail stores by focusing on product labels—not to buy the product, but to read the fine print and ask, "Who owns these brands" and "Did they really register those marks?" More...
Dan Kelly
You can call me a “non-traditional” attorney, which is a polite way of saying that I did not attend law school straight out of college. I spent five of my first six years after college as a junior high school teacher. The other year I worked as an engineer for a large corporation. More...
Sharon Armstrong
Voted most likely to become an actress while in pre-school, I don’t think I surprised anyone by becoming a lawyer, the steadiest professional gig open to those with a flair for the dramatic. More...
Brent Lorentz
Although I wish I could say my path to the law was the result of a lifelong dream or calling, it was more the result mere curiosity and an affinity for leather-bound books. More...
Tiffany Blofield
Although my initial career path was to be one of the Supremes (not the musically talented ones with platform shoes and sequins, but rather, the nine wearing sensible shoes and pressed black robes in DC), I will likely stay in Minnesota as I have never lived anywhere else. More...
Brad Walz
My law career started on the ice…as a defensive hockey player (we’re not talking professionally…and if I were, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into law). More...
Susan Perera
Born into the world with an aptitude for science and an affinity for art I found my career path quickly chosen for me. More...
Joy S. Newborg
When I took a personality/career test in high school to determine which path in life I should follow, I was told I should either be in broadcast journalism or law. So after I went to undergraduate school for broadcast journalism and film/television, I went on to obtain my law degree from the University of Minnesota. More...
Laura Gutierrez
An attorney I am not. Though told to become one, I don't possess those qualities needed to be an effective one (I lack confrontation skills, and although I can write a great argumentative essay, I can’t argue outside a sheet of paper). More...