DuetsBlog Collaborations in Creativity & the Law

Monthly Archives: April 2010

Often Imitated, Never Duplicated: The Quizzical Case of Celebrity Look Alikes

By on Posted in Advertising

While I was perusing ESPN.com shortly after the Masters, I came across an interesting article about a Tiger Woods lookalike. The article was a bit dated, and was probably recycled because of Tiger’s upcoming Master’s appearance, but it sparked interest nonetheless.  My first question was, “How big of a market exists for the celebrity lookalike biz?” While… Continue Reading

Having Your Head in the Clouds May Not Be Such a Bad Thing After All

By on Posted in Agreements, Almost Advice, Contracts

Cloud computing is a service that uses the Internet and central remote servers to maintain data and software applications. Cloud computing allows consumers and businesses to use software applications without installation and access to their personal files at any computer with Internet access. Simple examples of cloud computing include Yahoo email or Gmail. It is an option… Continue Reading

A Dimming Energy Star

By on Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers

—by Jason Voiovich, Principal and Co-Founder of Ecra Creative Group I know I looked for it. A little over a year ago, I spent my normal morning shower in about 45 degree water. Needless to say, it was time for a new water heater. Undeterred by the cold for a day or two (my wife was out of… Continue Reading

Nominative Fair Use?

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Dilution, Fair Use, Famous Marks, Infringement, Marketing, Trademarks

I have asked the question before about the Google brand appearing in a Rapala billboard ad, here. I have asked it when 3M’s Post-It note appeared in an Accountemps billboard ad, here and here. Now I’m asking it again with a different brand and a different billboard ad: Does Morrie’s Automotive Group’s use of the Match.com brand… Continue Reading

Pizza Branding Goes Back to the Basics

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

Guest Blogger Anthony Shore of Operative Words, recently wrote about the naming pendulum swinging away from arbitrary names and back toward brand names having an honest, straightforward, and even humble quality, in Truth is Stronger Than Fiction. Another way of saying it might be: naming is going back to the basics. I recently came across a good example… Continue Reading

Grilling Some Barbecue Brands

By on Posted in Branding, Loss of Rights, Trademarks

As evidenced on these very pages over the past year or so, there does seem to be a general divide between legal types and marketing types about the desirability of descriptive trademarks and brands.  This is understandable.  There is a direct tension here.  More descriptive marks and brands carry more information to a consumer and… Continue Reading

Uniform Look-For Advertising?

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Look-For Ads, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Trademarks

Spring is in the air (at least here in Minneapolis) and so are some fresh examples of look-for advertising that actually avoid the use of those straitjacket words. As we have discussed before, look-for advertising is a powerful tool in developing non-traditional trademark rights in subject matter such as single color marks. Dan discussed it here, in… Continue Reading

Out for Blood (or Money)?

By on Posted in Copyrights

The recent success of the Twilight books and movies has definitely sparked worldwide interest in vampires.  I am only slightly embarrassed to admit that I am on Team Edward, along with my 10-year-old niece.    With Twilight’s popularity, it didn’t take long for other vampire-based books, television shows and movies to pop up along with some… Continue Reading

Best Buy, Resurrected From the Trademark Graveyard?

By on Posted in Branding, Dilution, Domain Names, False Advertising, Infringement, Law Suits, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Trademarks

As a trademark type, something struck me as odd about the Best Buy logo image appearing on the brand new outdoor baseball scoreboard at Target Field, during the Minnesota Twins recent home opener against the Boston Red Sox, so I captured a photograph to discuss it here on DuetsBlog. What caught my eye was the curious placement of the ® federal registration symbol. Its positioning adjacent to the words… Continue Reading

Retiring the Fighting Sioux Nickname and Imagery

By on Posted in Branding, Goodwill, Law Suits, Marketing, SoapBox, Trademarks

Last week, the North Dakota Supreme Court issued an opinion in a suit relating to the University of North Dakota’s use of the name FIGHTING SIOUX and related imagery.  This opinion was the latest installment in a long-running matter, the history of which I will not get into in detail–the opinion recites most of the relevant facts. … Continue Reading

Is Honesty the Best Policy?

By on Posted in Advertising

Burger King’s latest commercial presents a new approach to advertising in the burger wars – honesty; admitting they “stole” McDonald’s breakfast sandwich idea.  In the commercial, the creepy-looking King scales a fence and breaks into McDonald’s headquarters in the middle of the night to steal the recipe for the Sausage McMuffin with Egg breakfast sandwich. The commentator notes… Continue Reading

The Sign of a Successful Trademark Enforcement Program

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Copyrights, Infringement, Keyword Ads, Law Suits, Marketing, Search Engines, Trademarks

Unable to resist a good trademark story, I snapped this photo in one of the countless gift shops along Hollywood Boulevard, as my family searched for various stars and did the "Walk of Fame," a week or so ago. What drew us into this particular shop was a striking wall full of shelves displaying what appeared to be rows upon… Continue Reading

What is Maker’s Mark’s Mark?

By on Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, Product Packaging, Sight, Trademarks

Last Friday, a federal court in Kentucky ruled that Fortune Brands, the maker of Maker’s Mark bourbon, enjoys exclusive rights in the dripping wax seal that adorns each bottle of the spirit. (You can read about the case in earlier stages in Dan’s post, here.). Fortune had sued Diageo, another beverage giant and maker of Casa Cuervo… Continue Reading

Why Marketers Don’t Give Two Hoots about Trademark Concerns‚Ñ¢

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

by James Mahoney, Creative director/writer at Razor’s Edge Communications Okay, so I’ve read a lot of whining and agita about how marketers continually drive trademark attorneys to distraction with un-trademarkable names. And how advertisers drive those same attorneys to that same distraction with potential trademark infringements. It’s time to let you in on a dirty… Continue Reading

Lettuce Pray (for a fair use defense)

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

   The Easter Bunny eats lettuce, right? OK, not a very substantive tie-in for today’s Easter Day post . . . . Anyway, about five weeks ago the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois rendered a trademark decision in Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises,Inc. v. Leila Sophia AR, LLC, d/b/a Lettuce Mix, granting plaintiff Lettuce Entertain You a temporary restraining order… Continue Reading