I’ve been thinking about the nature of language lately, ever since I listened to a podcast about various philosophers who devoted their study to language. For example, Ludwig Wittgenstein, one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century, is famous for his work on the logic of language. A fundamental premise to his
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Can a Word Which Means a Lot (Aloha) Mean Almost Nothing in Trademark?
Hawaii seems to be on the mind here at DuetsBlog lately. Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting three Hawaiian islands for the first time. While there, I quickly became acquainted with Hawaiian life and language. It’s a beautiful place; I recommend everyone visit.
When I first landed on Kauai, the “garden island,”…
Comic Con (TM)
— Jessica Gutierrez Alm, Attorney
The term Comic Con has become synonymous with a certain culture. In recent years, comic book conventions (and comic book culture), have become increasingly popular. Annual comic book conventions are held in major cities across the U.S. and the world. Many of these conventions are titled—officially or unofficially—“[City]…
Trick or Trademark? Mars Says Hershey’s Can’t Own “SCARY” Candy.
Sandwiched between 90 degree days in a Minnesota summer, the idea of Halloween wasn’t on my radar – until I learned about the latest dispute between candy giants Mars and Hershey’s.
Mars and its subsidiary own many well-known candy brands, including M&Ms, Snickers, Twix, Skittles, Life Savers, and others. Not to be outdone, Hershey…
Pass the…Creative Work
-Martha Engel, Attorney
I laughed when I saw yesterday’s Adweek article about Heinz adopting Don Draper’s “Pass the Heinz” pitch from the hit show “Mad Men.” Given the lackluster creativity observed from the Super Bowl ads, have we actually reached a point where a creative says “hey remember that Mad Men episode? let’s just…
Subway Drops Footlong TM from Advertising
The last time I was at the airport I snapped this photo showing how Subway finally appears to have dropped its use of the TM symbol in association with the word FOOTLONG:
As you will recall, Subway had attempted to federally-register the word FOOTLONG as a trademark for hotdog sandwiches, but Sheetz’ trademark challenge…
The 140-Character Trademark Lesson
– Draeke Weseman, Weseman Law Office, PLLC
When I think of Twitter, I think of — it’s really hard to define because we’re still coming up with the vocabulary — but I think it’s defined a new behavior that’s very different than what we’ve seen before.
— Jack Dorsey, Twitter Co-Founder in 2009
My, how…
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
We continue to anxiously await the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s decision in Frito-Lay North America, Inc. v. Princeton Vanguard, LLC, especially given the Board’s recent genericness ruling in Sheetz of Delaware, Inc. v. Doctor’s Associates, Inc., finding FOOTLONG generic for “sandwiches, excluding hot dogs.”
The question at issue in Frito-Lay’s trademark challenge…
Millions of False TM Notices to Remove?
Tie Goes to the Brand or Generic Name?
Boys baseball occupied a fair portion of my evenings last week and this past weekend, a game where almost everyone has at least heard: The tie goes to the runner (when it comes to running the bases anyway — because when it comes to the final score the game continues until someone wins, even if…