A few times each year, clients will call or write and inquire about some official-looking correspondence they’ve received about a trademark registration or application. That happened this week, and here’s the top portion of the official-looking correspondence (redacted): You can see the full page here. If you read the fine print, this letter from the… Continue Reading
Category Archives: SoapBox
Subscribe to SoapBox RSS FeedRedefining a Trademark Bully?
Posted in Almost Advice, Articles, False Advertising, Mixed Bag of Nuts, SoapBox, TrademarksWe’ve spilled a lot of digital ink discussing the trademark bullying topic, going all the way back to my original blog post from 2010: ”The Mark of a Real Trademark Bully.” Within the last several days, there has been quite a bit of online media coverage about Trademarkia’s new features that tout an ability to “Find… Continue Reading
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
Duey is Two!
Posted in Guest Bloggers, Mixed Bag of Nuts, SoapBox, Squirrelly Thoughts, TrademarksToday marks the second anniversary for DuetsBlog. So, Duey is two! As shown above, a number of Duey’s family members and friends attended the festivities. Besides, noting the more than 700 posts over the last two years, the more than 900 comments, and the nearly 600,000 visits, Duey celebrated DuetsBlog being named one of the "Top 50… 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
“Powerful” Rebranding at International Trademark Association?
Posted in Branding, Marketing, SoapBox, Social Networking, Squirrelly ThoughtsThe International Trademark Association, known as INTA, unveiled a new website yesterday with some new branding and features. (Presser here, INTA Bulletin announcement here.) I like the overall design of the website itself. If you ignore the flipping blocks (which can be difficult), the site has a fairly clean and simple appearance. (The FAQ tells… Continue Reading
A Study On Omitted-Letter Domain Name Typos
Posted in Branding, Domain Names, Famous Marks, Loss of Rights, Marketing, SoapBox, TrademarksIn the past on these pages, I have been hard on Apple Inc. for apparent missteps in securing trademark rights to some of its more well-known products (iPhone, iPad). Last week, Apple landed a victory on the domain name front, winning a Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Procedure ("UDRP") decision for the appl.com domain name. … Continue Reading
J.D. Waffler: The Art of Taking a Position
Posted in SoapBox, TrademarksWould it surprise you to learn that not all trademark types are created equal? I didn’t think so. Like any profession, some of the professionals are better and more gifted than others. A few are much better. And, if bell curves have any application here, a few are much worse too. In the inaugural post for DuetsBlog,… Continue Reading
Retiring the Fighting Sioux Nickname and Imagery
Posted in Branding, Goodwill, Law Suits, Marketing, SoapBox, TrademarksLast week, the North Dakota Supreme Court issued an opinion in a suit relating to the University of North Dakota’s use of the name FIGHTING SIOUX and related imagery. This opinion was the latest installment in a long-running matter, the history of which I will not get into in detail–the opinion recites most of the relevant facts. … Continue Reading
Dialing in on Trademark Abandonment?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Sight, SoapBox, TrademarksWhat do these photos have in common, besides the fact that they are both from Roadsidepictures‘ beautiful photostream collection posted on Flickr? Well, one might say, they both illustrate a form of abandonment, an abandoned building on the left, and apparently some abandoned intellectual property in the form of a clock logo and ’round the… Continue Reading
The Rise and Fall of Online Social Networks?
Posted in Advertising, Mixed Bag of Nuts, SoapBox, Social NetworkingFour weeks ago, I blogged about FaceBook’s ill-advised move to allow unique username URLs. Some time between then and now, FaceBook removed the page where trademark owners could defensively register their marks to prevent others from choosing such marks as user names. Now, a rights holder’s only recourse is to submit this form to report… Continue Reading
New gTLDs: Internet Chaos?
Posted in Domain Names, SoapBoxI am earnestly trying to reserve judgment on the prospect that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN" — the proverbial "man behind the curtain" of the Internet) is actually going to go through with its roll out of opening new generic top-level domains ("gTLDs") to anyone (a TLD is the thing that… Continue Reading
Dr. No and the Parade of Horribles
Posted in SoapBoxDr. No is not only the name of a famous James Bond film, it is the would-be trademark of a dietary supplement company located in San Francisco, it describes a certain kind of politician, and most importantly, for purposes of this inaugural post for Duets Blog, it describes a certain brand of intellectual property lawyer…. Continue Reading
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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...
Joy S. Newborg
When I took a personality/career test in high school to determine which path in life I should follow, I was told I should either be in broadcast journalism or law. So after I went to undergraduate school for broadcast journalism and film/television, I went on to obtain my law degree from the University of Minnesota. 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...