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Category Archives: Product Configurations

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Oh Ketchup…I’m Just Not That Into You: Understanding the Value of Fluid Trademarks

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Product Packaging, Trademarks

- Jason Voiovich, Director of Corporate Marketing, Logic PD Don’t get me wrong.  My two children elevate their weekly Heinz intake regimen to near Olympian discipline.  But me?  I enjoy a good dollop with pound of fries at the Lion’s Tap, but I haven’t given America’s second-favorite red condiment a second thought since John Kerry… Continue Reading

Rapala Billboard Ads Continue to Engage

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Patents, Product Configurations, Search Engines, Sight, Trademarks, USPTO

It’s that time of year again. The fishing opener in Minnesota is upon us this coming Saturday, so Rapala is sporting its new billboard advertisement. Judging from USPTO trademark filings, it looks like the cutesy “Bass Friends Forever“ tagline is intended to adorn clothing items too. You will recall that we have consistently covered various iterations of the Rapala billboard… Continue Reading

Hey Brand, Shh!: Is De-Branding the Next Hip Design Trend?

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Food, Marketing, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Patents, Product Configurations, Product Packaging, Trademarks

A couple months ago, Selfridges, a high-end department store based in London, launched a “No Noise” campaign.  The initiative seems rooted in the company’s history; its original store featured a “Silence Room” to allow shoppers an empty area to relax from the stimulating hustle & bustle of the retail experience.  From the site:  “As we… Continue Reading

7G Wireless: The Next Big Thing?

By on Posted in Food, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Patents, Product Configurations, Taste, Technology, Trademarks

- Brent Carlson-Lee In the past six months, I have applied for a design patent and two trademarks – all food related. When I mention this, a common response is: “I wish I were creative or knowledgeable enough to come up with an idea worthy of patenting or trademarking.” My answer is invariably: “You are!”… Continue Reading

Batmobile: The Copyright Rises

By on Posted in Copyrights, Infringement, Law Suits, Patents, Product Configurations

Over the weekend, I saw an article in the Hollywood Reporter (which incidentally likes to quote our very own Catlan McCurdy, like here and here) discussing the copyright dispute over the 1966 Batmobile.  Warner Brothers and its subsidiary DC Comics sued the owner of Gotham Garage for trademark and copyright infringement of the Batmobile design. … Continue Reading

If only I could be a Lego product tester…

By on Posted in Almost Advice, Branding, Famous Marks, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Patents, Product Configurations, Trademarks

Santa brought me one of my favorite trademarked and patented products:  a LEGO® set! Yes that is Mr. Firefighter dousing the flames on the LEGO® tree while holding a cup of coffee.  The hero of my LEGOland! For a Lego geek like me, there was an intriguing story in the Wall Street Journal last week… Continue Reading

Design Patent Flexes Muscles

By on Posted in Guest Bloggers, Idea Protection, Infringement, Law Suits, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Patents, Product Configurations, Technology, USPTO

- Jeffrey Stone and Brett Klein, Patent Attorneys, Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. The design patent is perceived by many designers and patent attorneys as being a relatively weak and impotent patent protection mechanism as compared with the better-respected utility patent. It is typically thought that design patents are only useful in protecting against exact copies…. Continue Reading

Hershey Bar Configuration Mark Allowed

By on Posted in Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations

–Dan Kelly, Attorney Late last month, Hershey Chocolate and Confectionary Corporation won an appeal at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to register the following as a configuration mark for use in connection with candy and chocolate: The decision (opinion here) is straightforward and not precedential.  It is somewhat interesting in that Hershey had already… Continue Reading

3D Printing Concerns

By on Posted in Infringement, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Patents, Product Configurations

–Susan Perera, Attorney The tech industry has opined on the conflict between 3D printing and intellectual property for a few years, and the debate may be heating up. 3D printers allow a user to create and “print” a 3-dimensional object through the use of a digital file and a “printer” that dispenses material in successive… Continue Reading

Webinar: Hot Marketing Topics with Trademark & Legal Implications

By on Posted in Branding, Genericide, Guest Bloggers, Look-For Ads, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Product Packaging, Trademarks

Last week I had the distinct pleasure of participating in a ninety-minute webinar with my good friend, frequent and eloquent guest-blogger on DuetsBlog – Aaron Keller of Capsule – complete with some friendly banter on the following: "Hot Marketing Topics with Trademark and Legal Implications." Minnesota Continuing Legal Education has generously provided a link where the webinar can be viewed in its entirety, here. As you’ll… Continue Reading

Dilbert Advocates Trademark Shape Depletion Theory

By on Posted in Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Trademarks

Remember the days when the color depletion theory justified courts and the U.S. Trademark Office in denying any federal trademark protection for single colors, per se? This was the status of the trademark law for many decades, at least until the Court of the Appeals for the Federal Circuit disagreed in 1985 (In re Owens Corning Fiberglas… Continue Reading

Enforcement of U.S. Copyrights in the U.K.

By on Posted in Copyrights, Guest Bloggers, Infringement, International, Law Suits, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Trademarks

Simon Bennett, Partner and Head of Intellectual Property, Fox Williams LLP, Solicitors George Lucas defeat over Stormtrooper helmet design replicas creates ability to enforce U.S. copyrights in the UK.    The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has ruled against George Lucas’ company Lucasfilm in the latest episode in a copyright and designs battle against a… Continue Reading

Baird on Branding & Trademarks

By on Posted in Advertising, Almost Advice, Branding, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Sight, Smell, Sound, Taste, Touch, Trademarks

There aren’t too many things I enjoy more than speaking about the legal implications of branding. Our friends at BlackCoffee captured a talk I gave to a group of marketing types a while back, on black and white film (thank goodness), and they have graciously posted a 34 minute excerpt, here. Some of the topics I… Continue Reading

Masters’ Marks II: The Green Jacket

By on Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Trademarks

–Dan Kelly, Attorney It is Masters time again.  See my post from last year if you think that this has something to do with graduate degrees. Last year, I listed a number of marks of the Masters Tournament, including the Green Jacket.  Hard core trademark types will be interested to learn that last December, Augusta… Continue Reading

A Few Trademark Grammar School Facts

By on Posted in Copyrights, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Trademark Bullying, Trademarks, Truncation

Any recent graduate of trademark grammar school knows, at least, the following twenty facts (perhaps there is, at least, one opinion among them): A trademark identifies, distinguishes, and indicates the origin of goods; A trademark should be searched and cleared before adoption and first use; A trademark needs a trademark attorney to take a position on availability; A trademark… Continue Reading

Samuel Adams Better Beer Glass . . . No Trademark For You?

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Product Packaging, Sight, Trademarks

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

Spot that Spout

By on Posted in Product Configurations

–Susan Perera, Attorney It 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… Continue Reading

Gibson’s Case Strikes Chord with Court

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

–Dan Kelly, Attorney In November I commented on Gibson Guitar Corp.’s suit against the makers and retailers of PAPER JAMZ toy guitars.  To recap briefly, past efforts by both Gibson and Fender Music to enforce trademark interests in their respective guitar body shapes have been largely unsuccessful. Until now. On December 21, 2010, the U.S. District… Continue Reading

Look for Reese’s “Perfect Mix”

By on Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Food, Look-For Ads, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Product Packaging, Taste, Television, Trademarks

–Dan Kelly, Attorney Earlier this week, Jason Voiovich commented on The Great Chocolate War between Hershey and Mars. We obviously have chocolate on the brain here this week.  The company that brought you the product configuration trademark to the right has recently released the below commercial for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups–perhaps further establishing rights in… Continue Reading

Get Your Paper Jamz Guitars While You Can

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

–Dan Kelly, Attorney 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… 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