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
Category Archives: Infringement
Subscribe to Infringement RSS FeedNew Challenges for So-Called “Patent Trolls”
Posted in Guest Bloggers, Idea Protection, Infringement, Law Suits, Patents- Sri Sankaran, Patent Attorney, Winthrop & Weinstine Recent developments in executive, legislative, and judicial branches present new challenges for patent trolls (or less pejoratively “non-practicing entities” or “assertion entities”). The White House recently outlined a series of initiatives to address the impact that patent assertion entities have on the economy. The administration cited a… Continue Reading
NY ♥ TM
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Copyrights, Dilution, Fair Use, Famous Marks, Idea Protection, Infringement, Marketing, SoapBox, Trademark Bullying, TrademarksLast week I stopped at a local wine and beer store to pick up a bottle of wine to bring to a friend’s dinner party (but also couldn’t resist purchasing a 4-pack of Surly’s Bitter Brewer. I had never seen it before, but highly recommend it). As I walked back to my car I noticed a pile of… Continue Reading
“Frankenstein” Class Action Suit Against YouTube Dies in Court…For Now
Posted in Copyrights, Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Law Suits, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Social Media, Social Networking, Technology- Ryan Francis, Law Student, William Mitchell Law School vs. Is he alive? Not really, but the Manhattan Second District Court recently referenced the Frankenstein monster in The Football Ass’n Premiere League Ltd. v. YouTube Inc., No. 07 CIV. 3582 LLS, 2013 WL 2096411 (S.D.N.Y. May 15, 2013). In this case, plaintiffs alleged… Continue Reading
EA Sports Uses Tim Tebow
Posted in InfringementI’ve previously blogged about a pending lawsuit involving former college athletes (here and here) and whether they should get paid when universities and business partners use their likenesses. Brent Lorentz, a Chambers USA-recognized rising star in the world of litigation, blogged about a similar suit on Monday. The plot thickened last Thursday due to some internet… Continue Reading
Distinguishing the Fictional From the Real: Names and Brands in Television and Movies
Posted in Agreements, Branding, Dilution, Fair Use, Famous Marks, First Amendment, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Television, TrademarksWe 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
Louboutin International Trademark Dispute
Posted in Branding, Infringement, International, TrademarksThose of us who love fashion and have closets overflowing with more pairs of shoes than we probably need are likely familiar with Louboutin pumps. These sky-high heels have a very distinctive look and design. Louboutin heels have recently been the subject of trademark controversy here in the United States. As Tiffany Blofield noted in a blog… Continue Reading
Putt-Putt Has No Miniature Trademark Rights
Posted in Branding, Genericide, Infringement, Law Suits, Loss of Rights, TrademarksWith all the golf coverage of the Masters Tournament and the coveted Green Jacket, this past weekend, it seemed particularly appropriate to report on a recent trademark case involving the miniature variety of golf: Putt-Putt, LLC v. 416 Constant Friendship, LLC (April 5, 2013 D. Md.). So, I learned two things this weekend, Adam Scott… Continue Reading
Employee Wrongfully Terminated for Refusing to Engage in Criminal Copyright Infringement
Posted in Copyrights, Infringement, Law Suits, Mixed Bag of NutsAdam Young worked for an architecture firm, Nortex Foundation Designs Inc. in Fort Worth Texas as a drafter. He was hired in 2001 and designed foundation plans based on copyrighted architectural designs that Nortex provided to him. In 2010, Young received a plan being drafted for a homeowner that had a black stamp which stated… Continue Reading
Prince, the DMCA, and Bullying
Posted in Copyrights, Fair Use, First Amendment, Infringement, Social MediaMinneapolis’ own hometown hero Prince Rogers Nelson, formerly and currently known simply as “Prince,” has been in the news quite often in 2013. It began with his surprise, limited ticket performances in January, which he followed up with a surprise concert to close out the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. Prince has also made legal… Continue Reading
When Will We Run Out of Words to Trademark?
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Trademark Bullying, Trademarks-John Reinan, Senior Director, Media Relations, Fast Horse I’ve been thinking about trademark bullying, and I was all set to write a surprising piece standing up for the bullies. You know, the big companies that spend giant piles of money developing products and services, and then hiring marketing geniuses like me to name them, and… Continue Reading
Body Shaping Manufacturers Butting Heads Over Cami Designs
Posted in Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Law Suits, Patents- Jeffrey Stone, Patent Attorney, Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. Two previously unrelated topics, Spanx and the Real Housewives television shows, are now connected by a legal dispute that is shaping up to be a real battle of the bulge (or muffin top) with neither party seemingly interested in smoothing things over. Thanks to recent, and ongoing, design patent… Continue Reading
Canine Inspired Copyright Confusion?
Posted in Agreements, Contracts, Copyrights, Infringement, Marketing, Social Networking, TrademarksWhen 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
Sheetz Flushing Subway’s Footlong TM Hope?
Posted in Branding, Food, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Trademark Bullying, Trademarks, TTAB, USPTOIt has been almost six months since oral argument before the TTAB over the question of whether the word “footlong” is a trademark or a generic name for a type of sandwich. What type of sandwich you ask? One about twice as long as a six inch sandwich, let’s say about twelve inches in length, making it, oh, about a foot long. Needless… Continue Reading
My Namesake Sues To Protect Its Famous Mark
Posted in Branding, Counterfeits, Dilution, False Advertising, Famous Marks, Infringement, Law Suits, Sight, TrademarksCoincidentally (or perhaps by design), Tiffany and Company (“Tiffany”) filed suit on Valentine’s Day against Costco Wholesale Corporation (“Costco”) to protect its trademark with respect to engagement rings. We know from our prior post regarding Tiffany’s amicus brief filed in support of Christian Louboutin that Tiffany actively protects its brand. If you are like me,… Continue Reading
McDonald’s Trade Dress? State Farm is There.
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Dilution, Famous Marks, Food, Infringement, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Sight, TrademarksPassing by a roadside billboard recently (below is a miniature version I found in the Minneapolis skyway system), my first thought was, wow, McDonald’s is getting into the juicy lucy business: Until more focus revealed that State Farm Insurance is the one behind the ad. Look familiar? No doubt burgers and car insurance are totally different lines of business and… Continue Reading
No Escape
Posted in Copyrights, Fair Use, Famous Marks, InfringementThis post is probably a bit dated for the readers that are on the cutting edge of developments in the film industry. But since that may only be a small subset of our readers, I thought this information was worth sharing. Apparently, a brazen independent film director managed to surreptitiously shoot nearly an entire film on-site… Continue Reading
Copyright and Historical Landmarks
Posted in Copyrights, Infringement, InternationalI recently heard that Dubai has planned to build a replica of the Taj Mahal, which will be four times the size of the original and is expected to be completed in two years. The Taj Arabia complex featuring the replica of the Taj Mahal in Dubai will include a hotel and commercial shopping areas…. Continue Reading
Rock, paper, horns.
Posted in Branding, Dilution, Infringement, Marketing, Non-Traditional TrademarksHere is a fun exercise. Hold your hand up and make a closed fist. Raise your index finger, and now your pinky. Now look at your hand, what does this symbol mean to you? If you said “Hook ‘em Horns,” the University of Texas would love for you to participate in a survey in the… Continue Reading
Need A Last Minute Valentine’s Day Gift? Be Careful!
Posted in Branding, Copyrights, Dilution, Fair Use, False Advertising, Infringement, Law SuitsDo you need to buy a last minute Valentine’s Day gift? You may be thinking of picking up the best-selling book Fifty Shades of Grey. Be careful – you need to read this post so that you are not confused and buy something else. You would have to be living in a cave to not… Continue Reading
The Not-So-Happy Place of Genericness
Posted in Articles, Food, Genericide, Infringement, Law Suits, Loss of Rights, Non-Traditional Trademarks, TrademarksRestaurant trade dress is possible to own when the claimed trade dress is distinctive and non-functional, think Taco Cabana. Restaurant trade dress can be so unique in the marketplace that distinctiveness is presumed with a finding of inherent distinctiveness. When not so obviously unique, distinctiveness also can be established with the more difficult proof of secondary meaning. Remember 1992? The… Continue Reading
The Louboutin Color Trademark Controversy Continues
Posted in Branding, Copyrights, Infringement, Law Suits, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Sight, Trademarks, USPTOWhile watching Lena Dunham stumble in her 6-inch Louboutin red-soled heels during the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards broadcast, our comments revolved around the fact that her dress was so long, she should have worn slippers instead of stilettos. We believed that Ms. Dunham should have waited to wear the Louboutin shoes until she was wearing… Continue Reading
Keeping Up With The Kardashians
Posted in Advertising, Infringement, Law Suits, TrademarksThose of you with an interest in cosmetics or trainwrecks have perhaps noticed the trademark dispute that has boiled over regarding Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney Kardashian’s use of “Khroma” in their cosmetic line. Apparently, the sisters have run into double, double, toil and trouble because there were preexisting marks of “Chroma” and “Kroma” used in… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Upholds Nike’s Promise to “Break the Wrist, and Walk Away”
Posted in Articles, Infringement, Law Suits, TrademarksNot every day does the United States Supreme Court weigh in on a topic impacting the trademark world, but it did so yesterday in Already, LLC v. Nike, Inc., a case illustrating what can happen when a trademark plaintiff wants to pull the plug and end the lawsuit it started in a walkaway (or as martial arts instructor… Continue Reading







