Dan sees blue ovals, I see and enjoy branding irony — especially irony that appears unintended. Take the example to the right, an ad for EagleBank, a community bank operating in the Washington, D.C. area. While mingling with more than 9,000 other trademark lawyers from around the world who have descended upon the Washington, D.C…. Continue Reading
Tag Archives: International Trademark Association
When You Verb Your Trademark, You Know What?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Television, TrademarksWell, perhaps more than just about every trademark use guideline in existence, including those offered by the International Trademark Association (INTA) ("NEVER use a trademark as a verb"): (television commercial link on Youtube here) Maybe because you have been following the trademark verbing dialogue here on DuetsBlog and you have learned all about Managing The Legal Risk of… Continue Reading
AlphaWatch on the Streets of San Francisco
Posted in AlphaWatch, Branding, Marketing, TrademarksSomething like 8,000 trademark attorneys are wandering loose on the streets of San Francisco for the International Trademark Association’s annual meeting. Once again, the main attraction was "Meet the Bloggers" — this edition happened to be "Meet the Bloggers VII" — where a record crowd crammed into Swig Bar a few hours ago, from 8:00 – 10:00 PM. Thanks Marty, John, and Ron for another great event!… Continue Reading
AIPLA Comments on USPTO’s “Trademark Bullying” Survey
Posted in TrademarksYou may be interested to know that the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) did file a timely response on January 7, 2011, to the USPTO’s original request for comments regarding whether "trademark bullying" is a significant problem deserving attention, see here. Hat tip to Jackie. Let’s just say, it is starting to become clear why the USPTO dropped the… Continue Reading
Trademark Bully Update: IPO Says Not a Problem
Posted in Famous Marks, Goodwill, Infringement, Law Suits, TrademarksThe Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) submitted its comments last Friday in response to the USPTO’s recent invitation for input on whether "trademark bullying" is a problem. In response to the USPTO’s key question "Do you think trademark ‘bullies’ are currently a problem for trademark owners, and if so, how significant is the problem?" IPO… 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
Black Coffee Stirs Some Sugar
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, MarketingWhile we were in Boston for the International Trademark Association (INTA) meeting last week, the BlackCoffee Brand Expression team invited me to speak at an intimate gathering of some of their fans. What a bright and interesting collection of folks, wonderful dialog, and a nice treat all around. Thanks Duets Guest Blogger Mark Gallagher and Laura Savard for… Continue Reading
Boston Bound for INTA Annual Meeting
Posted in TrademarksSince we have descended upon Boston, like just about every other trademark attorney in the world, for the annual meeting of the International Trademark Association (INTA), I’ll attempt to keep my remarks short and sweet today. Basically, I’m confident that the highlight of the INTA annual meeting (that has been observed to require an overhaul, to put it mildly) will be the unsponsored, unendorsed,… Continue Reading
Just Verb It? Part II: A Legal Perspective on Using Brands As Verbs
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Search Engines, TrademarksIt is probably fair to say from my initial Just Verb It? post, the many articles referenced in that post, the substantial panel of commentary to the post, and additional interest in the topic, that at least two truths about "brandverbing" are beyond much, if any, debate: (1) Lawyers (including the International Trademark Association’s guidelines on proper trademark use) routinely advise brand… Continue Reading
Just Verb It? A Legal Perspective on Using Brands As Verbs: Part I
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, TrademarksThere is a growing interest and, quite frankly, a dogged persistence among branding professionals to select brand names that have the ability and potential to be "verbed." This makes trademark attorney types nervous and those of the "Dr. No" variety actually become unglued. So, why the emphasis or fascination with verbs anyway? The answer apparently can be found in the definition of a… 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...
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...