DuetsBlog Collaborations in Creativity & the Law

Monthly Archives: March 2010

Truth is Stronger Than Fiction

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

by Anthony Shore, Operative Words There was a time when a simple, honest name was good enough.‚Ä®‚Ä® Venerable brands like General Electric, Kentucky Fried Chicken, National Biscuit Company and International Business Machines didn’t hide their business name behind metaphors or fuzzy ideas. Each name was a hammer. It delivered one message with brute, blunt force…. Continue Reading

Burlington Coat Factory’s Claim of Naked Licensing Is Not A Ploy To Increase Coat Sales

By on Posted in Law Suits

When accused of trademark infringement by popular designer Fendi, Burlington Coat Factory attempted to defend the lawsuit by raising the affirmative defense of “naked licensing.” Do not let the thought provoking name fool you. The doctrine has nothing to do with disrobing. Instead, the doctrine is designed to prevent confusion by consumers as to the source of the… Continue Reading

Did You Get the Memo, Less is More?

By on Posted in Advertising, Almost Advice, Branding, Marketing, Product Packaging, Trademarks, Truncation

A couple of days ago, Brandweek featured an interview of Peter Clarke, CEO and founder of Product Ventures, a Fairfield, Connecticut design firm that has created packaging for Heinz, Folgers and Febreze, among other brands: Brandweek: You believe that packaging has become simpler of late. Can you describe what you mean by that? Peter Clarke:… Continue Reading

Likelihood of Confusion (As to What?)

By on Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Branding, Contracts, Famous Marks, Goodwill, Marketing, Trademarks

Who is responsible for this billboard ad? Is it a Google advertisement? Verizon? Motorola? Droid? Whatever the answer, it helps make the point visually that trademarks require protection beyond mere confusion as to source; basically, the same point we made a while back (in response to Seth Godin’s trademark position and then during a friendly sparring match with Ron Coleman), as we discussed the breadth of the… Continue Reading

Questionable Sports Team Name Truncations?

By on Posted in Branding, Marketing, Squirrelly Thoughts, Television, Trademarks

         I suppose these questions and remarks may be perceived by some as rubbing salt in the wound, particularly fans of Vanderbilt University Men’s Basketball, and especially following Vandy’s buzzer-beater loss to Murray State in the opening round of NCAA tournament play. So sorry, but my boys are glued to the television, computer, CBS and ESPN during March Madness… Continue Reading

Domain Name Update

By on Posted in Domain Names, Marketing

Pot luck post today, but all related to the wonderful world of domain names: The .com top-level domain (TLD) turned 25 this week.  The first .com?  Symbolics.com.  I find it deliciously ironic that, by all appearances, the domain now appears to be owned by a domainer.  (If I may be permitted to paraphrase a famous, fictional… Continue Reading

Eureka! There’s Gold In Them Thar Web sites

By on Posted in Almost Advice

A few of my past posts have discussed the growing use of social media Web sites and why companies should consider joining the conversation. Whether that is through an existing social media Web site like Facebook or creating a social media Web site, this marketing technique provides a company with greater access to its customers including… Continue Reading

Branding in Pop Culture: How Brands Avoid Negative Associations

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

—by David Mitchel, Vice President of Marketing at Norton Mitchel Marketing Branding is an intricate and complicated process. Every aspect of the marketing mix must be handled with care. Brand managers watch their brands in the same manner that most parents care for a newborn child. However, there is an element of marketing communications that… Continue Reading

Permission to Exploit Jennifer Aniston’s Right of Publicity?

By on Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Contracts, Marketing

It is probably safe to assume that Channel 45 obtained permission to use Jennifer Aniston’s likeness and exploit her right of publicity in promoting viewership of syndicated Friends television programs. That’s a deal where everyone appears to win, Channel 45, viewers, advertisers, Aniston, and the other Friends cast members who share in the syndication royalties along with Ms. Aniston…. Continue Reading

Texas Toasted? How to Slice the Trademark Spectrum of Distinctiveness

By on Posted in Branding, Fair Use, Food, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Trademarks

  v.      Texas Toast is the generic name for a type of bread, you know, the big thick double-cut slices. Anyone can call their bread Texas Toast if that is what they are selling, and, by the way, it doesn’t have to be toasted for the name to fit. But, what if you’re selling a product made from bread, say, croutons?… Continue Reading

I’ll Huff and I’ll Puff …

By on Posted in Advertising

Puffing, according to Black’s Law Dictionary, is defined as: The expression of an exagerrated opinion — as opposed to a factual representation — with the intent to sell a good or service. Puffing, as a legal principle, has recently received a fair amount of attention as a result of Domino’s new ad campaign.  Puffing generally… Continue Reading

Total Recall

By on Posted in Guest Bloggers

by Randall Hull of The Br@nd Ranch® AKA: "Oh What a feeling". Unless you have been on a trek to one of the poles or living in a cabin deep in the woods somewhere, you have likely heard about the huge problem facing Toyota Motor Corporation and its U.S. organization Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc…. Continue Reading

More Godin on Trademark? The Sequel

By on Posted in Mixed Bag of Nuts

      Last week we explored how at least some of Seth Godin’s trademark advice is a bit dated. This week, let’s take a close and careful look at his advice concerning trademark registration: Some lawyers will get all excited and encourage (demand!) that you register your trademark. This involves paying a bunch of money, filing a bunch… Continue Reading

Happy Birthday Duey!

By on Posted in Guest Bloggers

DuetsBlog celebrated its first birthday today, so that means Duey the squirrel is one year old. He has made a lot of friends over the past year (as have we), and he has come a long way (as have we) despite his exhaustion hording nuts (we haven’t done any of that) for the long cold winter… Continue Reading

The BAM in Obama?

By on Posted in Trademarks

The Los Angeles Times reported last week on an interesting nugget – the Missile Defense Agency’s new logo sports a blue O, a red-and-white swooping swirl, and white outlining to set the image off from a blue background.  The logo looks like this: Remind you of anything? Say, this: The LA Times article remarks upon a… Continue Reading