You may have heard the news that iTunes has hit the 10 billion (with a "b") mark in number of songs downloaded. Sales began in 2003. That’s an average pace of more than 1.4 billion downloads a year. Considering that a typical single song retails for $0.99 on iTunes (likely higher than average price, as… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: February 2010
Trademark Lessons from “Jersey Shore”
Posted in TrademarksAt the risk of giving the readers of this blog the wrong impression about my tastes in entertainment, I have to mention the MTV show Jersey Shore. In just a few months, this reality television series about a group of proud New Jerseyans (or Jersyeites?) living at a beach house in the Garden State has partied,… Continue Reading
Shaun White’s Trademark Move
Posted in TrademarksShaun White recently won gold in Vancouver in the halfpipe with a near-perfect score. At 23, this already his second Olympic games and his second gold metal in this event. Since 2002, he has also won 9 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze medals in the X Games. Anyone who saw him in the Olympics has to be… Continue Reading
The Long and Short of Name Development
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Guest Bloggers, Keyword Ads, Marketing, Search Engines, Social Networking, Trademarksby Mark Prus of NameFlashSM Some of my name development clients are fans of long, keyword-rich names. Obviously the appeal of a search engine spotting your website is driving this approach. Some of my naming clients are fans of short names that can be easily shared on Twitter. Which approach is better? I will confess… Continue Reading
Color Trademarks, Red Knobs, and Secondary Meaning
Posted in Branding, Goodwill, Infringement, Law Suits, Look-For Ads, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Sight, TrademarksMore on single color trademarks today. Eighteen months ago, Wolf Appliance obtained a federal trademark registration in connection with "a red knob or knobs" of "domestic gas and electric cooking appliances, namely, ranges, dual-fuel ranges, cooktops, and barbeque grills." Wolf put its registration to the test a couple of weeks ago in a federal trademark infringement… Continue Reading
Tiger’s Personal Brand of Apology?
Posted in Branding, MarketingPutting aside the questions of whether Tiger Woods needed to or should have made a public apology, the timing of it, and even the content of it, now that Brand Tiger made the decision to do so and did so last Friday, I’m interested more with how Tiger conveyed it and the likely impact it will have on his personal… Continue Reading
Trademark Likelihood of Confusion Seminar
Posted in Mixed Bag of NutsTwelve more days until an all-star panel of speakers share their insights during an in-depth focus on arguably the most important trademark issue to brand owners, marketers, naming consultants, and their trademark counsel. The seminar will focus on the many faces of trademark confusion, with a special focus on initial interest confusion, reverse confusion, survey evidence,… Continue Reading
A Frisbee By Any Other Name?
Posted in Branding, Domain Names, Famous Marks, Genericide, Goodwill, Marketing, TrademarksIn reading news of the passing of Fred Morrison, inventor of the Frisbee Normal 0 0 1 2 1 1 2 11.1287 0 0 0 ®, I was surprised to learn that the Frisbee wasn’t always called "Frisbee." Morrison sold his rights to Wham-O in 1957 ("sold" being used loosely — he apparently earned more… Continue Reading
A Parody Is Forever?
Posted in Advertising, Idea Protection, Marketing, TelevisionRecently, a new Verizon commercial caught my eye. Perhaps you’ve seen it: This immediately reminded me of a circa 1993 (has it really been that long?) De Beers commercial (seen here). Apparently, this is one of at least two Verizon commercials intended to "spoof" some of the classic, well-known commercials from our past. My immediate reaction, to these… Continue Reading
Name That (Zombie) Brand
Posted in Guest BloggersLosing a trademark challenge is bad news, right? It’s costly, it’s embarrassing, and it can damage a brand’s reputation. And yet in one well-known instance, losing a trademark challenge didn’t hurt a brand at all. In fact, it ensured the brand’s immortality. The product name I’m thinking of existed for just three years in the… Continue Reading
Pepsi Throwback: The Renewed Choice of a Generation
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Goodwill, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Product PackagingIn December, PepsiCo introduced the United States market to a new, special limited time offer. From December 28-February 22, the Pepsi brand would offer Pepsi Throwback. This version of Pepsi contains real sugar, just as Pepsi products did until the early 1980s. This is the second market trial of Pepsi Throwback, as it had originally… Continue Reading
Another Marketing Pitfall: How to Crush a Smashing Brand Name & Trademark
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, TrademarksLast week we blogged about the dreaded D-Word and how some marketers unwittingly undermine trademark rights in a brand name by explaining that the name "describes" or is "descriptive" of the goods or services sold under the brand. We also have blogged about the danger of "taking a suggestive name, mark, or tag-line, and using it descriptively in… Continue Reading
What a Crock, Pot That Is . . .
Posted in Branding, Genericide, Infringement, Keyword Ads, Law Suits, Marketing, Search Engines, TrademarksWe’re not talking the foamed footwear Crocs® that Randall Hull wrote about in his What a Croc! post from a couple of weeks ago. Instead, we’re talking slow cookers — on this snow-capped Valentine’s Day in the Twin Cities. Every once in a while a stroll down the grocery store aisle leaves me surprised when… Continue Reading
iPad, the Latest Brand Bait?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Dilution, Fair Use, Famous Marks, Infringement, Marketing, Product Configurations, Sight, TrademarksPutting aside, for now, the unsettled question of who currently owns the iPad trademark, and Dan’s perspective on Apple’s trademark clearance strategies, from last week, look at what our finely-tuned e-mail spam filter just snagged: It is a similar story to my previous Free Dell XPS Laptop Spam Scam? blog post from last December. Here, however, the Apple, iPad, and the (possible) iPad configuration… Continue Reading
Looking For “Look For” Alternatives
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Look-For Ads, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Product Packaging, Television, TrademarksAs we have previously written, one way to acquire trademark rights in a non-traditional trademark, especially a product configuration trademark, is to use "look for" advertising. Here’s an example, although not a very prominent use of the "look for" slogan (here in context): You don’t have to cross the Pacific to enjoy the sweet taste… Continue Reading
The D-Word: What Ever You Do, Don’t “Describe” Your Brand!
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, TrademarksFrequently brand owners find themselves in the position of wanting or needing to explain the thinking behind their name, mark, and/or brand. Sometimes the explanations appear publicly on product packaging, websites, catalogs, brochures, advertising, and frequently in press releases, or perhaps in statements to reporters, especially when trademark litigation concerning the brand is involved. Such explanations about the brand’s… Continue Reading
Who Owns WHO DAT?
Posted in TrademarksIn light of the recent Super Bowl victory by the New Orleans Saints, I think a brief discussion of the recent squabble over ownership of the phrase “who dat” is in order. In case you have not been following the story, the phrase “who dat” is commonly used by football fans and, in particular, New Orleans… Continue Reading
The (South) Butt of the Joke?
Posted in Branding, First Amendment, Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, TrademarksWe’ve had a little rash of graphic design comedic parody lately. The first example is the notoriously funny The South Butt and its tagline "Never Stop Relaxing". Of course, this is an obvious knockoff of leading outdoor clothier The North Face and its "Never Stop Exploring" call to action. From a legal perspective, of course,… Continue Reading
Snickers Scores With Super Bowl Spot
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Television, TrademarksWith more than a little help from Betty White and Abe Vigoda, Mars topped USA Today’s AdMeter for 2010 Super Bowl television advertisements. For anyone out there who thought Abe Vigoda had passed on, and Mars’ ad was just another technological resurrection of a dead actor to sell products, like me, you’re operating on old and incorrect… Continue Reading
Question Mark Brands?
Posted in AlphaWatch, Branding, Famous Marks, Food, Law Suits, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Trademarks, TTABA couple of months ago I blogged about Branding Exclamations! Before that I blogged about Increasingly Intense Ellipsis Branding . . . . Now, it appears I must revisit the subject of punctuation mark branding given Cadbury Adams’ new Mega Mystery Stride brand gum, prominently featuring a question mark logo on the packaging where the S logo normally appears. The… Continue Reading
Super Bowl Advertising: A Super Media Buy?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, TelevisionThe Super Bowl is much more than a football game to determine a champion; it is a cultural phenomenon. One of the most important elements of Super Bowl Sunday isn’t the on the field action; it is the commercials on television during the breaks in the action. For companies that want to advertise during the… Continue Reading
First iPhone, Now iPad: Guessing at Apple’s Trademark Clearance Strategy
Posted in Branding, Counterfeits, Dilution, Infringement, Marketing, TrademarksCan you spot the genuine iPad? Back in July, I blogged about my then-discovery that Apple did not own the federal trademark registration for iPhone. Needless to say, when I heard about Apple’s new iPad product, I just had to see if they were out in front in securing trademark rights to this name. They’re… Continue Reading
Like Sands Through the Hourglass…
Posted in Trademarks, TTABThinking about filing a trademark opposition against a competitor’s pending trademark application? Thinking about filing a civil suit against a competitor’s corresponding trademark use? Often, upon the filing of a civil trademark suit and a request to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”), the TTAB will suspend the opposition pending the disposition of the civil suit. Generally,… Continue Reading
Of (USC) Trojans and (USC) Gamecocks
Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, TrademarksA few weeks ago, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in The University of South Carolina v. the University of Southern California in South Carolina’s appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”). The Federal Circuit affirmed the TTAB’s finding that consumers are likely to be confused by South Carolina’s use… 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...