If the "Soup Nazi" were employed as a Trademark Examining Attorney at the USPTO, he might be heard crabbing at the makers of Samuel Adams Boston Lager, were they to attempt to register or claim as a trademark the shape of their "new" beer glass from 2007, now almost four years old: "No trademark for you!" ("Best… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: February 2011
And the Oscar Goes To . . .
Posted in Advertising, Infringement, Keyword Ads, Law Suits, Marketing, Search Engines, TrademarksSuccessful trademark enforcement programs . . . .
Advanced Trademark Law Afternoon Program
Posted in Mixed Bag of Nuts, TrademarksIt appears I have overlooked highlighting to our readers an upcoming opportunity to advance and hone your trademark knowledge and perspective. Here is a link to the pdf brochure for the event. On Wednesday March 2, starting at 1:15 PM (after the conclusion of the morning session on Introduction to Trademark Law), in downtown Minneapolis, we’ll be discussing these… Continue Reading
Reaching from the Grave, Should Publicity Rights End Upon Death?
Posted in AdvertisingOver the years, several businesses have tried to gain a competitive edge by associating their products with famous celebrities… but without obtaining licenses. There has been the “Bogart” collection of furniture sold by Ashley Furniture (presumably relying on Humphrey Bogart’s name to sell a common looking line of couches and recliner) and the “B Davis… Continue Reading
Do Not Wear a White Cowboy Hat, Boots & Underwear
Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, Law SuitsMany visitors traveling to Times Square since 2002 have caught a glimpse of the Naked Cowboy®, a/k/a Robert Burck. He sings and officiates weddings (charging $499 and up). He even ran for the Mayor of New York at one point (although he ended up withdrawing from the race). For those of you who have not travelled… Continue Reading
Spot that Spout
Posted in Product ConfigurationsIt was time for a new kitchen faucet at our house and after opening the box of our new Delta faucet we noticed this image on the side panel of the box. The registration for this kitchen faucet product configuration mark (shown farthest to the right on the box) can be seen here. As… Continue Reading
Minneapolis Trademark Seminar Countdown
Posted in Mixed Bag of Nuts, TrademarksGentle reminder: This is your chance to get a solid introduction to trademark law and what some call trademarking. This amazing half day program on March 2, 2011, is being held in downtown Minneapolis, a pdf of the brochure is here. The speakers for the 9 AM CST morning session include: Stephen R. Baird, Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A…. Continue Reading
The Real Taco Bell Skills Challenge
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Food, Guest Bloggers, Marketing—George Fiddler, Client Relationship Manager, Fast Horse Inc. Last Saturday night I watched the entire 2011 Taco Bell Skills Challenge, an NBA All-Star competition that puts some of the league’s best point guards through an obstacle course of shooting, passing and dribbling. I somehow turned the tube off thinking about trends in modern crisis communication… Continue Reading
Embracing Word of Mouth in Social Media
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers—Brent Carlson-Lee, Founder & Owner of Eli’s Donut Burgers The kids were at Grandma and Grandpa’s this weekend. Everything was under control at work. My wife and I could have gone anywhere, done anything…so we decided to strip wallpaper and paint the upstairs bathroom. Before starting the job, I made the requisite trip to the… Continue Reading
The World is Full of Scam Artists
Posted in Counterfeits, Infringement, SoapBoxOn a regular basis, we receive inquiries from clients about IP-related solicitations that they receive from third parties relating to things like renewing trademark registrations and domain names. Typical solicitations are one-pagers with a patina of legitimacy, referencing a particular IP asset, the owner, then usually ending with the punch line of requesting a fee or… Continue Reading
It’s All About the Advertising
Posted in Advertising, Marketing, TelevisionA week or two after the Super Bowl, I’m not the only one still talking about it (our guest blogger David Mitchel discussed it yesterday). This year’s commercials did not wow me like I expected (sorry, cute Darth Vader kid). What surprised me was the lack of brand message. Sure, Doritos has edgy ads, and… Continue Reading
Subway’s “Footlong” Trademark Infringement Claim a Real Stretch
Posted in TrademarksThis scene from the Minnesota State Fair reveals how the "About a . . . Foot Long Hot Dog" stand is a "State Fair Taste Tradition. . . ." With respect to the name, I have always believed that the "About a . . ." qualifier is lawyer-driven to avoid false advertising lawsuits if a ruler might… Continue Reading
5 Important Questions about Super Bowl Ads
Posted in Guest Bloggers—David Mitchel, Chief Marketing Officer at Norton Mitchel Marketing It has been about a week since Super Bowl Sunday. Super Bowl ads are always a big story. This year was no exception. FOX charged brands nearly $3 million per 30 seconds of ad space. Without further ado, here are the 5 most relevant questions about… Continue Reading
INTA Makes Comments Public on USPTO’s “Trademark Bullying” Survey
Posted in TrademarksINTA has decided to release its January 4, 2011 submission to the USPTO on the "trademark bullying" topic, link to pdf here. It also can be downloaded from INTA’s website here. So, what do you think?
What Is P&G’s “Secret of Seven”?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing—Mark Prus, NameFlashSM A few years ago, Procter & Gamble launched the Olay Total Effects line, and introduced us to “Anti aging skin care products that moisturize and fight seven signs of aging.” In case you don’t know, the “seven signs of aging” are “look of fine lines and wrinkles, rough texture, uneven skin tone,… Continue Reading
AIPLA Comments on USPTO’s “Trademark Bullying” Survey
Posted in TrademarksYou may be interested to know that the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) did file a timely response on January 7, 2011, to the USPTO’s original request for comments regarding whether "trademark bullying" is a significant problem deserving attention, see here. Hat tip to Jackie. Let’s just say, it is starting to become clear why the USPTO dropped the… Continue Reading
The Galleria of Retail Jewelry Store Taglines
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Goodwill, Marketing, Television, TrademarksOn this Valentine’s Day, after enduring weeks of the same endless running of national retail jewelry chain advertising, leading up to this annually celebrated day of love and affection, I thought it might be fitting to try a few retail jewelry store taglines on for size and examine – at least from a trademark perspective – their protect-ability and likely placement on the… Continue Reading
What Does “Trademark” Mean to You?
Posted in TrademarksInherent in the question posed by the title of this post is the fact that the word "trademark" has more than one meaning, in fact, multiple meanings in the English language. Yet, some trademark types would have you believe that there is only one true meaning to the word "trademark" and that this meaning is not… Continue Reading
“Trademark Bullying” Comment Period Extended (Again)
Posted in Infringement, Law Suits, TrademarksIt appears the USPTO, once again, has extended the period for submitting comments on what originally was termed a study regarding "trademark bullying," but was later characterized as a study on "aggressive trademark litigation tactics" — so, for those of you still interested in submitting comments, the new deadline is February 14, 2011. Apparently, the USPTO plans on delivering the… Continue Reading
Consolidation in the Cloud: Some Factors to Make Your Company an Attractive Target
Posted in Almost AdviceVerizon Communications Inc.’s recent acquisition of cloud-computing company Terremark Worldwide Inc. caused some analysts to speculate that there may be more consolidation in the cloud-computing industry. Consolidation in the cloud-computing industry would not be surprising since, according to Gartner’s Hype Cycle, cloud computing is at the top. This means there are many market participants in the cloud-computing… Continue Reading
Do You Smell That?
Posted in Law SuitsClorox and Church & Dwight recently settled a lawsuit relating to cat litter. (News release here.) The basis for the lawsuit was Church & Dwight’s allegation that Clorox was airing an advertisement which misleadingly implied that cats preferred Clorox’s Fresh Step cat litter to Church & Dwight’s Arm and Hammer Super Scoop cat litter: "The Clorox Advertisements… Continue Reading
Levi Pockets a Favorable Court of Appeals Decision
Posted in Dilution, Law SuitsDusting off the archives, you may remember a 2009 blog post by Tiffany about a trademark infringement lawsuit initiated by Levi Strauss against Abercrombie & Fitch over the back pocket design on the respective parties’ jeans. In that case the jury determined that the pocket designs, shown below, were not confusingly similar; thus, no trademark… Continue Reading
Wanted: IP Attorney
Posted in Mixed Bag of NutsAs you may have guessed from our announcement yesterday, in bidding farewell to our talented colleague and fellow-blogger Karen Brennan, we are looking for someone who can attempt to fill Karen’s shoes as an associate attorney in the Intellectual Property Department at Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. Our posting for the position on Bench & Bar of Minnesota is here. If you’re up to the… Continue Reading
A Gunslinger’s Trademark
Posted in Guest Bloggers—Aaron Keller, Managing Principal, Capsule Both a modern and a historical crime unintentionally depicted on the one belt buckle. You’ve heard of the Jesse James gang, immortalized by their crimes and ability to epitomize the culture of our great western states. One day, back when the James brothers were in the business of crime and… Continue Reading
Subscribe
Add this blog to your feeds or enter your email in the box below and hit GO to subscribe by email.
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...
Catlan McCurdy
Having long been told by my parents that I could do or be anything I wanted, I chose at the age of 10 to become an attorney, as it was the career that would most likely lead me to my goal of becoming the first woman POTUS.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...
Derek Allen
In hindsight, writing about creativity and the law may have always been in the cards for me. I began training for a career in litigation at an early age by finding ways to disagree with pretty much anyone about pretty much anything. In my longest-running “case,” I argued with my middle school math teacher, Mrs. Jabs, for the better part of four years over whether, even if I got the right answer, I had to show my work to get full credit. 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...