Let’s review: From 1978 through 2007, Apple was in on-again, off-again trademark litigation with Apple Corps, holder of rights in The Beatles’ music and record label, over use of the APPLE trademark in connection with numerous music-related aspects of various Apple products and services, including iTunes. In 2007, Apple introduced its iPhone while Cisco held… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: iPhone
iPhone-y Baloney
Posted in Law SuitsOn April 15, Apple launched a massive suit against Samsung alleging various counts of patent and trademark infringement arising from Samsung’s Galaxy line of products. (The Complaint is here.) While the lawsuit involved claims of trade dress infringement and patent infringement, I was most interested in the trade dress aspects of the case. Of particular interest to… Continue Reading
Is the iPad Name Going Generic?
Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, Genericide, Guest Bloggers, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Search Engines, Trademarks—Mark Prus, Marketing Consultant at NameFlashSM Like many professional name developers, I opened 2010 by making fun of the Apple iPad name. Steve Jobs gave a strong case for naming the “tablet pc” in a way that was consistent with previous Apple naming conventions (iPod, iTunes, iPhone), but many of us poked fun at the… Continue Reading
Keeping brands simple: Because it’s all in your head
Posted in Guest Bloggers—Dave Taylor, Taylor Brand Group Think of your favorite brands of clothing, beverages, restaurants, or insurance–any product or service you like and purchase. You could probably name two brands or more in every category in addition to competitive brands that you’ve chosen not to buy, or haven’t bothered to try. Take a little bit of… Continue Reading
PING Golf Plays Nice, Profits from Trademark Deal with Apple
Posted in Agreements, Branding, Famous Marks, Goodwill, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Trademarks—Andrew Miller, Intern, Fast Horse Inc. In terms of name recognition, PING is to golf what Louisville Slugger is to baseball, so you’re right if you found it odd Apple would name its new music-based social network, of all things, Ping. Apple is no stranger to trademark litigation after wrangling with Cisco (“iPhone”) and… Continue Reading
Droid: An “Eye” Phone?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Infringement, Marketing, TrademarksAs Steve has noted, I find it amusing that the Droid phone from Verizon licenses DROID from Lucasfilm Ltd. To my mind, the Droid "eye" theme is a poor imitation of another famous fantasy character: the Eye of Sauron, from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. When I see the Droid eye, I immediately hearken… Continue Reading
Likelihood of Confusion (As to What?)
Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Branding, Contracts, Famous Marks, Goodwill, Marketing, TrademarksWho is responsible for this billboard ad? Is it a Google advertisement? Verizon? Motorola? Droid? Whatever the answer, it helps make the point visually that trademarks require protection beyond mere confusion as to source; basically, the same point we made a while back (in response to Seth Godin’s trademark position and then during a friendly sparring match with Ron Coleman), as we discussed the breadth of the… Continue Reading
First iPhone, Now iPad: Guessing at Apple’s Trademark Clearance Strategy
Posted in Branding, Counterfeits, Dilution, Infringement, Marketing, TrademarksCan you spot the genuine iPad? Back in July, I blogged about my then-discovery that Apple did not own the federal trademark registration for iPhone. Needless to say, when I heard about Apple’s new iPad product, I just had to see if they were out in front in securing trademark rights to this name. They’re… Continue Reading
Describe Different
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Search Engines, Trademarks"What am I?" Every invention begs this essential question of identity. The answer is found in the product’s descriptor. A descriptor defines a thing, categorizing it, framing it, positioning it and signaling its intended future. A product that doesn’t claim to break new ground adopts its category’s standard convention. For example, a new, run-of-the-mill digital… Continue Reading
Lessons from the iPhone Trademark Spat
Posted in Agreements, Branding, Famous Marks, Infringement, Law Suits, TrademarksI don’t recall what I was doing in January of 2007, but I apparently missed the news that Cisco had sued Apple over Apple’s then-newly announced iPhone product. I actually stumbled upon this accidentally when I recently searched for federal trademark registrations for IPHONE and found only one, and it belongs to Cisco. (PDF here.) Your eyes are… 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...