DuetsBlog Collaborations in Creativity & the Law

Monthly Archives: November 2010

Get Cozy and Toss Another Log on the Fire

By on Posted in Mixed Bag of Nuts

Because, we plan to be here a while longer . . . . As DuetsBlog approaches the legal drinking age (whoops, I guess we’re only about 21 months old, not years, sorry), we’d like to pay special thanks to our guest bloggers, our loyal readers, our friends who spread the word through their tweets and in other ways, and especially… Continue Reading

Whip Me Please. Don’t Ask.

By on Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing

—Aaron Keller, Capsule How do you feel when you’re being a bit indulgent? Guilty, perhaps. Sometimes it’s just something small, something you can enjoy without too much of an afterthought. The whipped cream atop your favorite coffee house (low fat) drink might be one of those treats. It is for me. But recently I’ve noticed… Continue Reading

Trademark Bullies Beware the Seventh Circuit

By on Posted in Infringement, Law Suits, Trademarks, TTAB

Actually, not just the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (governing appeals from the federal district courts in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin), but the Seventh Circuit is the most recent to reaffirm that our current legal system does, in fact, provide protection against real "trademark bullies" — and more generally — those who abuse the legal process with unfounded Lanham Act claims…. Continue Reading

Get Your Paper Jamz Guitars While You Can

By on Posted in Infringement, Law Suits, Product Configurations, Trademarks

Gibson Guitar Corp. sued a number of companies last week, alleging infringement of its guitar body shapes.  The principal target of its ire appears to be WowWee Group Ltd., who makes a line of toy instruments called "Paper Jamz."  These instruments are sold through numerous well-known retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, many of whom Gibson also… Continue Reading

myBrand

By on Posted in Branding

  Monday, November 9, 2010 marked the release of yet another title in the often controversial “Call of Duty” video game franchise and, with that, the release of controversial advertising. Of particular note is the below commercial featuring Kobe Bryant and Jimmy Kimmel in a no-holds-barred shootout meant to illustrate the experience of on-line gameplay. Not… Continue Reading

The Fair Use Defense to Nowhere

By on Posted in Fair Use

Last Wednesday I wrote about the parody fair use defense to trademark infringement in connection with the Facebook v. Lamebook lawsuits.  Since then another party has asserted the fair use defense, this time in regards to copyright infringement. Last week the on-line news source, Gawker, published images of more than 20 pages of Sarah Palin’s… Continue Reading

DVR Killed The Video Ad?

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

—David Mitchel, Norton Mitchel Marketing In 1981, MTV’s first music video was The Buggles’ “Video Killed The Radio Star”. The title of that song could be adapted to ask a more modern question. Is the DVR killing television advertising? Also, can brands successfully use television advertising in the era of the DVR? I strongly believe… Continue Reading

J.D. Waffler: The Art of Taking a Position

By on Posted in SoapBox, Trademarks

Would it surprise you to learn that not all trademark types are created equal? I didn’t think so. Like any profession, some of the professionals are better and more gifted than others. A few are much better. And, if bell curves have any application here, a few are much worse too. In the inaugural post for DuetsBlog,… Continue Reading

A Good Old-Fashioned Priority Fight

By on Posted in Almost Advice, Trademarks, TTAB

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board issued a rare decision at the end of last month in the case of Weatherford/Lamb, Inc. v. C&J Energy Services, Inc.  The two companies offer, among other things, oil and gas well fracturing services (explanation here).  Weatherford uses the trademark FRACSURE for its services, and C&J uses FRAC-SURE.  C&J… Continue Reading

Timeless Trademarks?

By on Posted in Mixed Bag of Nuts

Beneath the large umbrella of the law known as Intellectual Property (or simply, IP), one of the badges of superiority that trademark lawyers are able to brag up to their patent and copyright colleagues is that trademark rights are capable of lasting forever – there are no term limits – so, the underlying legal rights can be truly timeless, provided, of course, they continue to be… Continue Reading

Facebook Needs Dislike Option for Lamebook

By on Posted in First Amendment, Infringement, Law Suits, Social Networking

Like most 20-somethings who went to college during the rise of this social media monster, I am quite familiar with Facebook. However, I wasn’t aware of the website Lamebook until the current legal dispute began. Lamebook, a self-proclaimed, “humor blog” was designed to allow people to share the most “ridiculous” things posted on Facebook. The Lamebook website is… Continue Reading

When Employees Go Online: The Risks of Social Media to Employers

By on Posted in Guest Bloggers, Social Networking

—Megan Ruwe, Employment lawyer at Winthrop & Weinstine Imagine this scenario: While searching the Internet, you come across a Facebook posting authored by one of your employees that includes derogatory statements and inappropriate pictures. You wish you had seen the blog before you hired the employee. What does this mean to you as an employer? What can you… Continue Reading

Trolls-R-Us?

By on Posted in Mixed Bag of Nuts

Really, Trolls-R-Us? Seriously, I stumbled upon the above web site last evening (without using this online tool), doing some research for a future blog post on trolls, and it really left me with just one question. No need to dwell on such mundane topics as likelihood of confusion, dilution, or even fair use defenses, instead, I was left wondering, just how many… Continue Reading

Will Instant Searching Drive Branding?

By on Posted in Branding, Search Engines

Stephen Stolfi of CT Corsearch wrote an article published on IP Law 360 last week (subscription required) about Google Instant.  Google is remarkable enough as is.  Google Instant is downright unsettling–a search engine that finds what you’re looking for before you finish typing it in.  Mr. Stolfi observes how this might benefit brands that the search… Continue Reading

Shot in the Dark – the PPK Design Trademark

By on Posted in Advertising, Counterfeits, Famous Marks, Goodwill, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Sight, Television, Trademarks, TTAB

—Karen Brennan, Winthrop & Weinstine I found Fig. 1 (from what I am sure was a very valuable patent, although I could not locate it) to be very fitting for this post.  After three and half years, four Office Actions, a Petition to the Director and finally an appeal, our client’s product configuration mark for the… Continue Reading

Leveraging a Law Firm’s Intellectual Property through Public Relations

By on Posted in Guest Bloggers

—John McKay, Senior Account Director at Introworks A lawsuit brought by the grandmother of her grandchild severely injured in a car accident against his parents is won by a firm trying to collect for life-long damages from the insurance company of the child’s parents….An employment issue suddenly being played out in the press gets a… Continue Reading

Trademark Attorneys & Verified USPTO Statements

By on Posted in Almost Advice, Law Suits, Trademarks, TTAB

"Just because you can," is rarely a good reason to support a decision that really matters. This principle is no less true in the trademark world than it is elsewhere. So, relying on your own navigation of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) online search database without also seeking a trademark attorney’s competent analysis of the… Continue Reading

The Night (Some of) the Lights Went Out at Sears

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Marketing, Sight, Trademarks

Sorry, I couldn’t resist snapping this photo tonight at the local Sears appliance store: Could Sears be going green and saving some electricity? Could Sears be suggesting it is ready to carefully listen to your requests and/or complaints? Or, has Sears found a creative way to promote its sale of Ultimate Ears earphones in the dark? More seriously, this… Continue Reading

Toothpaste Trademark Tussle

By on Posted in Fair Use, Infringement, Law Suits, Product Configurations, Product Packaging, Trademarks

News outlets reported this past summer on GlaxoSmithKline’s trademark infringement lawsuit against Colgate-Palmolive Company about the use of what GSK alleges are its trademarks for TRIPLE PROTECTION and a nurdle. I’m sorry . . . what’s that?  You’ve never heard of a nurdle?  You have probably seen one.  A nurdle looks like this: (You obviously have never… Continue Reading

Another Indication that Cloud Computing is Gaining Mainstream Acceptance

By on Posted in Almost Advice

If you pay attention to the recent marketing of some big tech companies such as IBM and Microsoft, you will notice that more references are being made to the “cloud.” For example, Microsoft’s television commercials use the phrase “to the cloud.” When references to cloud computing start seeping into marketing material intended for the general public, it… Continue Reading

Vampires vs. Zombies

By on Posted in Trademarks

What is it with zombies these days? If recent memory serves correct, it wasn’t so long ago that a pop-culture junkie like me couldn’t mention the words “creature of the night” without some girl/tween/soccer mom swooning over the likes of one Edward Cullen, the romantic hero of Stephanie Meyer’s wildly popular  Twilight series. You know who you… Continue Reading