Over the years, the increase in Internet use and projections for future Internet use caused a boom in the construction of data centers. Data centers house and link the servers and other hardware that form the backbone of the Internet. And many companies and states want a part of the action. Minnesota, for example, passed a… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: July 2011
What’s 50/50 Legal Advice Worth to You?
Posted in Almost Advice, Branding, Infringement, Marketing, TrademarksEarlier this month, Seth Godin wrote an interesting blog post called "The overwhelming fear of being wrong." In it he writes: "Almost every marketer I know underestimates how widespread this fear is. It is the lone barrier almost every product and service has to overcome in order to succeed." Fear of being wrong can also… Continue Reading
Imitation Apple Stores and Trade Dress Protection
Posted in CounterfeitsMany companies have experienced issues with counterfeit products, but few have likely dealt with counterfeit stores. Over the weekend I was surprised to hear about counterfeit Apple Stores in China selling authentic Apple products. New reports identify up to five Chinese stores mimicking Apple’s iconic store appearance down to the white Apple logo, clean look,… Continue Reading
Destructive Management Communication Behavior
Posted in Guest Bloggers—James E. Lukaszewski ABC,APR, Fellow PRSA, President of the Lukaszewski Group Division of Risdall McKinney Public Relations When we analyze what causes management communications programs to implode, explode, derail, self-destruct, or simply slide into the ditch, there are identifiable behaviors and activities that precede or predict disaster or negative collateral damage. Here’s a checklist of what… Continue Reading
Intellectual Property Plaintiff Admits to Being Ignorant?
Posted in Copyrights, Goodwill, Infringement, Law Suits, Non-Traditional Trademarks, TrademarksAbout a week ago another interesting federal intellectual property case was filed in the District of Minnesota: Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. v. Puffin Software et al. Although the four count complaint includes a federal unfair competition claim, a Minnesota deceptive trade practices claim, and a common law unjust enrichment claim, the case really appears to be centered around the copyright infringement… Continue Reading
Two Degrees Separation from Justin Timberlake
Posted in Law SuitsJustin Timberlake was featured in recent movies about Facebook (i.e., Oscar nominated The Social Network) and a movie about teachers who may use Teachbook (i.e., Bad Teacher with former girlfriend Cameron Diaz). Ironically, he is therefore somewhat connected to both parties in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Illinois (closer than the six degrees… Continue Reading
Words of Caution on Being Early Adopters: Google+ & Its Current Role in Marketing
Posted in MarketingAs a marketer, I couldn’t resist jumping on the bandwagon. This time on Google’s Facebook-esque Google+. I begged and pleaded for an invitation until I finally received one. Excitedly, I added my peeps (mainly consisting of other marketers) to my “Circles,” and then I set off to figure out the great mystery: how does this… Continue Reading
When Silence is Not Very Golden
Posted in Almost Advice, Infringement, TrademarksWhile it is true that not responding to a trademark cease and desist letter is always an available option, I tend to believe it is rarely a good choice. The strategy of silence seldom makes the issue go away, it often ends up costing the recipient more money to resolve the issue, and it is… Continue Reading
Social Media Survival, Profile Persistence and Death
Posted in Guest Bloggers—Jesse de Agustin, Strategist (follow Jesse on Twitter: @JdeAgustin) Imagine: I am struck by an 18-wheeler on the New Jersey Turnpike and fall to my unfortunate death. While I’d be dead, pressing legal – and philosophical questions remain. Does “Jesse” continue to “persist” across time through his online profiles? Do they turn into any one… Continue Reading
A Monkey, a Blogger, and a News Agency Walk into a Bar . . .
Posted in Copyrights, Fair UseTechDirt published a post a couple of weeks ago about a monkey that took some photos. TechDirt explored whether the monkey could own or assign the copyright in the photos. It is worth surfing over to see one of the self-portraits, and the commentary is interesting. Just last week, TechDirt reported that it had received… Continue Reading
How Much Government Do We Really Need?
Posted in Almost Advice, Guest Bloggers– James E. Lukaszewski, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA, President, The Lukaszewski Group Division of Risdall McKinney Public Relations I’m sitting here at 7:45 a.m. moving very slowly in what is the first of four daily rush hours in this lane of eastbound I-494 in South Minneapolis. One has to wonder what all the media excitement is… Continue Reading
Scandalous Trademarks: Wanted Dead or Alive?
Posted in Law SuitsOn June 15, 2011, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana put a bullet in Dillinger, LLC’s efforts to hold Electronic Arts liable for trademark infringement and unfair competition based on EA’s use of the word “Dillinger” in one of its video games. EA is the developer and publisher of Godfather video… Continue Reading
Pawn Star Prior User
Posted in Law SuitsHaving a registered trademark doesn’t mean you can stop everyone from using the same or similar mark. Without comprehensively searching for prior common law uses of similar marks it can be difficult to know if another party may have prior rights in a mark, a lesson that the A&E Television Network may be learning. Although… Continue Reading
A World Without Brands
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers—Brent Carlson-Lee, Founder & Owner of Eli’s Donut Burgers Imagine a world without brands – when water was water, sand was sand, and cheese curds were cheese curds. To experience such a place, you may think a ride in the DeLorean with Doc Brown is in order, but it turns out you only need a… Continue Reading
No Room at the Inn? Try the Motel . . . .
Posted in Branding, Infringement, TrademarksAbout a half a mile down the road from a Holiday Inn Express, located in the Wisconsin Dells, is the Holiday Motel, with the above shown vintage signage. I’m sure there must be an interesting trademark story behind the apparently peaceful co-existence of these two highly similar lodging brand names in very close geographic proximity. Wouldn’t you expect Holiday… Continue Reading
The Merger Of The CenturyLink.
Posted in AdvertisingRecently, through repeated viewing of some commercials and a little independent research, I learned that Qwest has merged with CenturyLink. In the interest of full disclosure, I know very little about this merger aside from the commercials and internet snippets, but the commercials I’ve seen from Xfinity/Comcast (talk about a muddy rebranding) have piqued my interest…. Continue Reading
Where is the Sarcasm Font When You Need It? (Incorporating Humor into Your Brand)
Posted in MarketingMy posts tend to be about the how-to side of social media technology. Today, I’m talking about technologies I want. (With some things to think about, of course.) My best girlfriend and I communicate regularly via social networks and texts. We’re of the same mind, for the most part, and that typically means “veiled” sarcasm-attacks…. Continue Reading
Yet Another Trademark Lesson From Jersey Shore
Posted in TrademarksOne thing I love about trademark law is how extraordinarily easy it is to find useful examples of basic trademark lessons in real life – even in a television show that has been called “mind-numbing” and “absolutely ridiculous” and has spawned a Facebook page called “Jersey Shore is Stupid & A Waste of Time.” Yes,… Continue Reading
Congratulations on the Acquisition…Now About That Brand…
Posted in Branding, Goodwill, Guest BloggersMatt Kucharski, Senior Vice President, Padilla Speer Beardsley It looks like Forbes was right when it reported in late 2010 that 2011 would be a year of mergers and acquisitions. We’ve seen a significant number of clients announcing mergers with and acquisitions of both competitors and complementary players, and while the motivations are varied – expanded… Continue Reading
Happy 4th of July!
Posted in Mixed Bag of NutsRevisiting The Phantom of the 4th.
The Rise and Fall of Online Social Networks Revisited
Posted in SoapBox, Social NetworkingAbout two years ago (I’m having difficulty coming to grips with the fact that it has, in fact, been two years), I blogged about my frustrations with the social networking sites of FaceBook, MySpace, and Twitter. Along with my posted content, I, admittedly a bit baitingly (if that is a word), adorned the post with… 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...