DuetsBlog Collaborations in Creativity & the Law

Monthly Archives: November 2009

Double Negatives in Branding: Nobody Doesn’t = Everybody Does?

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, International, Marketing, Television, Trademarks, Truncation

There is a time and a place for the use of double negatives. The Rolling Stones made the double negative "I Can’t Get No" lyrics famous in the legendary hit Satisfaction (#2 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s List of the Top Songs of All Time). Pink Floyd made the double negative lyrical phrase "We Don’t Need No" famous in the song Another Brick in The… Continue Reading

False Advertising Claims on the Rise

By on Posted in Advertising

There was a very interesting article in the New York Times this weekend worth reading – Best Soup Ever?  Suits Over Ads Now Seek Proof. The article addresses several recent issues raised by companies against competitors over statements or claims being made in advertisements.  Specifically, companies are challenging the truth or implied truth in competitive… Continue Reading

Getting Familiar With the Basics: A Planning Primer

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing

It’s the last quarter of the year, and if you haven’t done your planning for 2010, I’ve got two things to say to you: 1) you’re late (you undoubtedly know that), and 2) you’re not alone. But whether you’re in the middle of developing your 2010 plans, directing planning input from multiple sources, or reviewing… Continue Reading

You Heard it Here First: Nashville is Brand Central Station!

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Trademarks

For the record, I love music, lots of different artists and musical styles: Bob Dylan to Aerosmith, Otis Redding to Elvis, Montgomery Gentry to Santana, Climax Blues Band to Bill Withers, Jack Johnson to Jamey Johnson, Michael Jackson to Alan Jackson, James Taylor to Taylor Swift, Pink Floyd to Wallflowers, Pat Benatar to Pat Green, Glen Campbell to Stevie Wonder, Beatles to Terri Clark, Cat Stevens… Continue Reading

My Aha Moment

By on Posted in Branding, Television

If you’ve been paying attention to the trademark front, you’ve probably heard that Oprah and Mutual of Omaha recently settled a small skirmish over the use of "aha moment."  The skirmish was apparently ignited by Mutual of Omaha’s attempt to register "Official Sponsor of the Aha Moment."  According to Oprah, she made the phrase famous… Continue Reading

Nostalgia Calling

By on Posted in Branding

While browsing through a toy store recently, I noticed what appears to be a trend in branding this holiday season – reintroducing classic or “nostalgic” toys.   It is very hard for me to accept that the toys I played with as a child could be considered “nostalgic,” but upon first sight of the Chatter Phone™, my childhood… Continue Reading

Let’s Play “Truth or Consequences”: The New FTC Guides for Endorsements & Testimonials Bring Truth a Little Bit Closer

By on Posted in Guest Bloggers

We all would agree that “As Seen on TV” is one of the great brands of all time. The brilliant marketeers behind it recognized the extraordinary power of television – people believe as true what they see on TV. Why that is I’m sure has been the subject of enumerable studies; after all it defines who… Continue Reading

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Redskins Trademark Case

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Trademarks, TTAB

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the requested appeal of Harjo v. Pro-Football, Inc., the nearly two-decade old trademark case seeking cancellation of the U.S. Trademark Registrations owned by the NFL franchise in the Nation’s Capitol. In doing so, the highest Court in the land, has permitted the laches ruling to stand. Basically, permitting dismissal of the action given a… Continue Reading

Delicious Marks: Candy Bar Cross-Section Trademarks?

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Look-For Ads, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Sight, Trademarks

A couple of months ago I saw in a convenience store a large Snickers point-of-sale floor-display depicting a prominent and attention-getting cross-section of a Snickers candy bar. Given Mars’ apparent interest in owning and creating non-traditional trademark rights surrounding the Snickers brand (revisit Dan’s post from earlier this year), it made me wonder whether Mars might view (and want consumers to… Continue Reading

Happy Holiday Before the Holidays

By on Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, Food, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Trademarks

As we hit the ides of November, we are nearing the proverbial calm before the storm of the holidays. What you probably do not know is that we are but two, short days away from a little-known holiday before the Holidays, one that celebrates the preparation for the Holidays. This, of course, could only be National Bundt… Continue Reading

You See Blue Ovals, I See 3D Spheres

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Sight, Trademarks

I must admit, I was quite intrigued by Dan Kelly’s Duets blog entry “I See Blue Ovals” (August 28, 2009). It got me thinking about some of the trends occurring in logo design today. My 20+ years in the world of branding has witnessed a few notable changes. Perhaps the most significant is the application of… Continue Reading

Naming the Store Brand

By on Posted in Guest Bloggers

          Every Sunday I go through the circulars in the paper looking for new products. I usually spend a lot of time with the ads from the national drug store chains (Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid). Recently, I observed that each chain seems to have a radically different philosophy on store brand naming. And while this observation isn’t… Continue Reading

Alabama Fumbles

By on Posted in Copyrights, Fair Use, First Amendment, Infringement, Law Suits

Earlier this week the Legal Satyricon and a number of newspapers in the Southeast reported on the University of Alabama’s loss of part of its trademark infringement suit against former licensee Daniel Moore, an artist who has created original paintings featuring the UA’s athletes for over 30 years. UA argued that it has protectable trademark rights… Continue Reading

Fraud at Domain Name Auction House

By on Posted in Domain Names

A bomb exploded in the domain name aftermarket world on Wednesday.  A well-known domain name auction house called SnapNames.com announced that one of its (now former) employees had been bidding as a shill in many online domain name auctions run by the company since 2005.  SnapNames has an FAQ page on the matter here.  It… Continue Reading

Lion’s Tap Reaches “Mutually Beneficial” Settlement with McDonalds

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Dilution, Famous Marks, Food, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Trademarks

A couple of hours ago Kare 11 News in Minneapolis reported "Lions Tap wins settlement with McDonalds." Absolutely no details about the settlement were provided, so it’s hard to understand how Kare 11 is able to pronounce this as a "win" for Lion’s Tap over McDonalds, although it certainly plays into the seductive David and Goliath theme of… Continue Reading

What’s G? For Gatorade, G is Gruesome

By on Posted in AlphaWatch, Branding, Food, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Trademarks

Gatorade’s efforts to re-brand as “G” have been a dismal failure. It seems as if the brand management staff at Gatorade consumed a few too many cold beverages while making this decision, and I’m not referring to refrigerated Gatorades. The history of the G re-brand has its roots in 2007. Unit sales were flat in… Continue Reading