DuetsBlog Collaborations in Creativity & the Law

Tag Archives: General Mills

That Purple Cereal

Posted in Advertising, Branding, Fair Use, Food, Infringement, Marketing, Product Packaging, Sight

As you likely know, many of the Duets Blog bloggers were involved in a full day trademark CLE last week. One of the sessions focused on the issues facing private label brands and the line between identifying your competitor by using similar packaging and infringing on their trademark or trade dress. Along those lines, a friend… Continue Reading

Get a Load of This: General Mills Takes Offense in Trademark Spat Over Spuds

Posted in Branding, Food, Genericide, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Trademarks

          They say that the best defense is a good offense. It appears that General Mills has adopted this strategy in a recent trademark dispute over the term LOADED in connection with instant potatoes. Just yesterday, the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal reported the filing of a federal district court lawsuit by General Mills against Idahoan Foods, in which… Continue Reading

Taking the Cake With Suggestive Trademarks?

Posted in Branding, Food, Marketing, Sight, Trademarks

John Reinan provided yesterday a marketer’s perspective that questioned the value of coined trademarks. In my experience, as a trademark type, one place on the spectrum of distinctiveness where both trademark and marketing types can have their cake and eat it too, is the delicious category of suggestive trademarks. From the legal side of the coin, suggestive… Continue Reading