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Category Archives: Agreements

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There’s always money in the banana-based intellectual property rights…

By on Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Branding, Contracts, Copyrights, Famous Marks, Infringement, Law Suits, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Trademarks

In its list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, the Rolling Stone ranked the 1967 album The Velvet Underground & Nico at number 13 – not bad for the band’s very first album.  The album had a simple cover, some would say iconic, cover:   And get this: the banana peel was actually a… Continue Reading

Distinguishing the Fictional From the Real: Names and Brands in Television and Movies

By on Posted in Agreements, Branding, Dilution, Fair Use, Famous Marks, First Amendment, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Television, Trademarks

We have an interesting question to answer, leading us into the holiday weekend, during which I suspect a few movies will be watched by more than a few marketing types and trademark types: “Is it trademark infringement if a fictional company or product in a movie or television drama bears the same name or brand as a real… Continue Reading

Canine Inspired Copyright Confusion?

By on Posted in Agreements, Contracts, Copyrights, Infringement, Marketing, Social Networking, Trademarks

When we mention confusion on DuetsBlog, we’re typically referring to the well-known likelihood of confusion test of trademark infringement. But today, we’re focused on the apparent confusion many have about the important question of: When copyright protection comes into being. If you ever have wondered whether something is or has been “copyrighted,” this post is for… Continue Reading

FTC’s New Rules for Advertising Mobile Apps

By on Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Almost Advice, Contracts, False Advertising, International, Technology

The Federal Trade Commission has published guidelines for advertising mobile applications. In general, the guidelines incorporate the FTC’s policies on truthful advertising and data privacy. On the advertising side, if you make objective claims about your app, then you will need proof to support your claims. The proof necessary to support objective clams is competent… Continue Reading

Successful Evolution of an Unlicensed Business Model?

By on Posted in Agreements, Articles, Branding, Contracts, Fair Use, First Amendment, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Trademarks, Truncation

Brand owners and managers may wonder, is a trademark license required when another’s unregistered color scheme is used? Depending on the facts, it may very well be. About four years ago brand owners scored a major victory in LSU v. Smack Apparel, when the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to the existence and successful enforcement of… Continue Reading

B-Dubs’ Yellow Protected

By on Posted in Agreements, Food, Infringement, Law Suits, Non-Traditional Trademarks

–Susan Perera, Attorney Last week Jim Hammerand at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported on locally based Buffalo Wild Wings (also known as “B-Dubs”) ending its lawsuit against Buffalo Wings & Rings, the suit had included claims of trademark and trade dress infringement. It appears that under the terms of the settlement agreement, Buffalo Wings… Continue Reading

Putting the Shoe on the Other Tootsie

By on Posted in Agreements, Branding, Dilution, Domain Names, Famous Marks, Food, Goodwill, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Trademark Bullying, Trademarks

There was a time when a certain kind of small business owner – strapped for cash — with a meager promotional budget, easily could be tempted to adopt a “clever” name, as a “short-cut,” to “play off” a well-known, iconic brand, but in the end, he or she probably was convinced by counsel that doing so would be… Continue Reading

“Buried Treasure” – Securing Reimbursement for Monies Expended in Past Intellectual Property Lawsuits

By on Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Contracts, Copyrights, False Advertising, Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Law Suits, Trademarks

—David A. Gauntlett, Gauntlett & Associates   Companies looking for extra money in these tough economic times may have an answer from the past. The vast majority of insurer denial letters for intellectual property lawsuits lack merit. Therefore, companies who have litigated intellectual property cases and expended significant monies in defense and settlement may be overlooking ready… Continue Reading

Tattoos & Hangovers: The Headache of Competing IP Rights

By on Posted in Agreements, Branding, Contracts, Copyrights, Goodwill, Infringement, Law Suits, Trademarks

A month ago the hot news was the federal copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Mike Tyson’s facial tattoo artist S. Victor Whitmill against Warner Brothers Entertainment, and Whitmill’s attempt to block the Memorial Day release of the highly anticipated blockbuster sequel movie The Hangover Part II, based on the film maker’s unauthorized reproduction and/or derivative of the tattoo… Continue Reading

License With Care

By on Posted in Agreements, Contracts, Copyrights, Infringement, Law Suits, Loss of Rights

–Dan Kelly, Attorney The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has recently issued a pair of opinions fleshing out a principle in copyright law known as the “first sale doctrine.”  The principle traces its roots to the 1908 Supreme Court opinion of Bobbs-Merrill Co. v. Straus.  It is currently enshrined in statute and provides in basic part, “the… Continue Reading

Life-Line to the Lifeblood

By on Posted in Agreements, Copyrights, Guest Bloggers, Idea Protection, Law Suits

—Joy Newborg, Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. New ideas are the lifeblood of Hollywood and television, as executives are scrounging to find the next wildly popular Avatar or “Friends.” However, there is a little evil known around the industry as idea theft, where a person believes that their idea has been used but they were not… Continue Reading

PING Golf Plays Nice, Profits from Trademark Deal with Apple

By on Posted in Agreements, Branding, Famous Marks, Goodwill, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Trademarks

  —Andrew Miller, Intern, Fast Horse Inc. In terms of name recognition, PING is to golf what Louisville Slugger is to baseball, so you’re right if you found it odd Apple would name its new music-based social network, of all things, Ping. Apple is no stranger to trademark litigation after wrangling with Cisco (“iPhone”) and… Continue Reading

Unlawful Tarnishment of Chevron’s Shining Texaco Star?

By on Posted in Agreements, Contracts, Dilution, Famous Marks, Goodwill, Law Suits, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Trademarks

An interesting trademark case recently was filed in federal district court in Minnesota, Chevron Intellectual Property LLC et al v. MDW Equity Partners, LLC, a pdf copy of the complaint here. As beleaguered BP‘s once valuable goodwill and reputation continues to flounder in the court of public opinion with the tragic gulf oil spill and disaster (by the way, how… 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

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

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

Accenture’s New Ad Campaign: Elephants, Frogs, & Tiger, Oh My!

By on Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Branding, Contracts, Goodwill, Marketing

Earlier this month, I noted Accenture’s words in publicly ending its relationship with Tiger Woods, having announced around December 13, 2009, that it would "immediately transition" to a new ad campaign, and then compared those words to the company’s actions in continuing to run the Tiger Woods airport ads even three weeks after their termination announcement. Right after Accenture’s announcement, Going… Continue Reading

The Roar of Tiger Woods in Branding

By on Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Branding, Contracts, Guest Bloggers, Marketing

The impact of the Tiger Woods scandal in branding can be viewed from two different perspectives. The first perspective comes from the point of view of the companies that paid Woods to endorse their products. The second perspective is how the personal brand of Tiger Woods will be impacted as the smoke clears from this… Continue Reading

Irreparable Harm to the Accenture Brand?

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

When brands and trademarks are at risk of being infringed, swift and immediate protective action is required, given the inherently reputational nature of the resulting damage. That is why the law typically presumes the necessary "irreparable damage" when issuing immediate injunctive relief, once a plaintiff is able to show, among other things, that it is likely to win its trademark infringement claim. Without… Continue Reading

Gatorade-Powerade False Advertising Case Resolved, For Now

By on Posted in Advertising, Agreements, AlphaWatch, Branding, Dilution, Famous Marks, Food, Law Suits, Marketing, Truncation

       You may recall the Gatorade v. Powerade false advertising lawsuit filed by a Pepsico entity (Stokely-Van Camp, Inc.) against rival The Coca-Cola Company back in April, discussed here (with a copy of the complaint). You also may recall how G scored an F in the courtroom, back in August, losing a hotly contested motion for… Continue Reading

Don’t Expect This to Have Tiger by the Tail…

By on Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Branding, Contracts, Guest Bloggers, Marketing

  Tiger Woods’ scandal proves once again that celebrity gossip mongering is a blood sport. The bigger the celebrity, the more the blood will flow. In Tiger’s case, he can open up a blood bank. Though it’s unlikely to reach the insanity that was unleashed when Michael Jackson died last summer, it will take the… Continue Reading

In the Beginning, There was the Internet and Now…

By on Posted in Agreements, Almost Advice, Social Networking

Friendster, the pioneer of social networking, was recently acquired by the Malaysian company MOL Global Pte, which is an affiliate of MOL AccessPortal Berhad, a company that operates and develops payment systems in Asia, for $1.8 billion. I assume at this price the return on investment was pretty nice for the founders of Friendster, but the… Continue Reading

Securing the Desired Turf For A Trademark Battle

By on Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Dilution, Famous Marks, Infringement, Law Suits, Trademarks

Let’s talk turf today, two kinds. OK, maybe three. First, with Target Field looking more and more like the long-anticipated brand new outdoor home ballpark for the Minnesota Twins, all Twins fans and the local media can think or talk about this week is the new real bluegrass blend turf being installed now (as I type this blog post, in… Continue Reading