Marketing types, it may well be obvious to some, but it is always important to consider the source of inspiration for the branding and marketing of the products and services you promote. At least for those who follow country singer Toby Keith, with a Costco retail end-cap display like this, it’s hard not to assume where the… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Lanham Act
Stealing Trademarks Can Land You in Jail
Posted in Law SuitsTrademarks and branding are worth a lot of money to a company. The Fourth Circuit recently addressed the serious issue of trademark counterfeiting. This form of trademark infringement occurs when a company manufactures goods (or performs services) that are identical to those of the trademark owner, and then passes them off as the authentic goods… Continue Reading
Co-opting Political Symbols for Commercial Use
Posted in Trademarks–Sharon Armstrong, Attorney The Lanham Act prevents applicants from registering any of a number of words and devices as marks, including immoral or scandalous matter and flags or coats of arms. In terms of the latter exclusion, such a prohibition makes sense; without it, for example, any merchant could use an American flag to hawk… Continue Reading
Intellectual Property Plaintiff Admits to Being Ignorant?
Posted in Copyrights, Goodwill, Infringement, Law Suits, Non-Traditional Trademarks, TrademarksAbout a week ago another interesting federal intellectual property case was filed in the District of Minnesota: Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. v. Puffin Software et al. Although the four count complaint includes a federal unfair competition claim, a Minnesota deceptive trade practices claim, and a common law unjust enrichment claim, the case really appears to be centered around the copyright infringement… Continue Reading
Do Not Wear a White Cowboy Hat, Boots & Underwear
Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, Law SuitsMany visitors traveling to Times Square since 2002 have caught a glimpse of the Naked Cowboy®, a/k/a Robert Burck. He sings and officiates weddings (charging $499 and up). He even ran for the Mayor of New York at one point (although he ended up withdrawing from the race). For those of you who have not travelled… Continue Reading
The Galleria of Retail Jewelry Store Taglines
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Goodwill, Marketing, Television, TrademarksOn this Valentine’s Day, after enduring weeks of the same endless running of national retail jewelry chain advertising, leading up to this annually celebrated day of love and affection, I thought it might be fitting to try a few retail jewelry store taglines on for size and examine – at least from a trademark perspective – their protect-ability and likely placement on the… Continue Reading
What Does “Trademark” Mean to You?
Posted in TrademarksInherent in the question posed by the title of this post is the fact that the word "trademark" has more than one meaning, in fact, multiple meanings in the English language. Yet, some trademark types would have you believe that there is only one true meaning to the word "trademark" and that this meaning is not… Continue Reading
Does Size Matter, When Identifying a “Trademark Bully”?
Posted in Counterfeits, Infringement, Law Suits, Trademark Bullying, TrademarksWho says that being a large corporate trademark owner is one of the prerequisites to earning the emotionally-charged, pejorative, and ill-defined label “trademark bully“? Well, the original directive to the USPTO appears to assume that “trademark bullying” is a one-way street, disfavoring only large corporate trademark owners, and ignoring the possibility that individuals and small businesses are equally capable of deserving… Continue Reading
Trademark Bullies Beware the Seventh Circuit
Posted in Infringement, Law Suits, Trademark Bullying, Trademarks, TTABActually, not just the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (governing appeals from the federal district courts in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin), but the Seventh Circuit is the most recent to reaffirm that our current legal system does, in fact, provide protection against real “trademark bullies” — and more generally — those who abuse the legal process with unfounded Lanham Act claims…. Continue Reading
The Mark of a Real Trademark Bully
Posted in Dilution, Domain Names, Famous Marks, Trademarks, TTABSeems as though there is a lot of discussion and news reports these days about bullying and how to put a stop to it: School bullying, workplace bullying, and cyber-bullying, to name a few of the most common types. Fair enough, as I recall, my seventh grade PE teacher was a real bully. However, for those… Continue Reading
IP Grammar . . . and Those Who Cringe About It
Posted in Mixed Bag of NutsLast September, in my blog post entitled "What Does Trademarked Mean to You?," I wrote: More than a few trademark types cringe when their clients or others say things like "let’s trademark it," "they didn’t trademark their logo," or "we don’t want to trademark this name," and, when they ask questions like "is it trademarked?"… Continue Reading
Seth Godin on Trademark?
Posted in Branding, Dilution, Famous Marks, Idea Protection, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Search Engines, TrademarksSeth Godin has an amazing knack for creating and spreading ideas that matter, mostly really good ones, by the way. I always look forward to his daily riffs and I have been known to spread some of his important ideas too when they overlap with things I happen to care a lot about. When it comes to Mr…. Continue Reading
Trademark Specimens of Use: A “Necessarily Subjective” Standard
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Marketing, Product Packaging, Trademarks, TTABJohn Welch, over at the TTABlog, reported on a recent trademark specimen of use case (pdf here); one near and dear to my heart, since I represented the Applicant seeking to register the composite word-only mark DELI EXPRESS SAN LUIS for sweet rolls. At issue in the case was whether the product label specimen (appearing below) shows use of the… Continue Reading
False Advertising Claims on the Rise
Posted in AdvertisingThere was a very interesting article in the New York Times this weekend worth reading – Best Soup Ever? Suits Over Ads Now Seek Proof. The article addresses several recent issues raised by companies against competitors over statements or claims being made in advertisements. Specifically, companies are challenging the truth or implied truth in competitive… Continue Reading
Purple People Eater Jim Marshall & Friends Take on the NFL
Posted in Law SuitsViking fans will recall the famous Purple People Eaters from the late 1960s through the late 1970s. The nickname arose for the defensive line of the Vikings from their purple jerseys and the popular Sheb Wooley song bearing that name. Although they went to four Super Bowls (unfortunately, not taking home a Super Bowl ring), the Purple People… Continue Reading
What Does “Trademarked” Mean to You?
Posted in Marketing, TrademarksMore than a few trademark types cringe when their clients or others say things like "let’s trademark it," "they didn’t trademark their logo," or "we don’t want to trademark this name," and, when they ask questions like "is it trademarked?" or "is that trademarked software?" or "did we ever trademark our logo?" or "should we… Continue Reading
Medline Industries, Inc. v. 3M Company (False Advertising Complaint Attached)
Posted in Advertising, False Advertising, Law Suits, Marketingv. (Medline Sterillium Rub) (3M Avagard Surgical Scrub) In a very recent false advertising lawsuit, Medline Industries is all lathered up, alleging that 3M Company is playing dirty in the surgical hand antiseptic marketplace by making false and misleading statements in advertising about 3M’s Avagard brand surgical scrub and Medline’s competing Sterillium Rub brand surgical hand antiseptic. Here is… Continue Reading
Fair Use of the Google Name, Logo, and Distinctive Color Combination?
Posted in Advertising, Fair Use, Infringement, International, Marketing, Search Engines, TrademarksThis unsolicited e-mail communication from the Caribbean Island of Nevis got trapped in our spam filter, but I thought I’d remove the link and bring it out under a short leash for some legal training and discussion: Trademark fair use, you ask?
New York Court Provides No Assistance To “The Little Blue Box” Company
Posted in Counterfeits, Dilution, Infringement, International, Product Packaging, Sight, TrademarksI, like most women, want a present in a little blue box from Tiffany & Company (a/k/a Tiffany & Co.) This is not just because the company bears my name (I only wish I were an owner of the company), but because Tiffany & Co.’s exquisite jewelry is associated with the fabulous blue box. Tiffany &… Continue Reading
Goodbye, Mr. Hughes
Posted in Trademarks–Sharon Armstrong, Attorney This past Thursday, John Hughes—the mind that created every slumber party-worthy movie of my youth—passed away from a heart attack. Whenever I hear John Hughes’ name, my mind, taking some sort of odd word-association trip, automatically shifts to “The Breakfast Club,” which then makes me think of the Simple Minds song “Don’t You… Continue Reading
How Hot Will This Saucy Trademark Chip Fight Be? Blazin’ Hot? Now, That’s Hot!
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Sight, TrademarksThere is no question that attempting to own "hot" or versions of "hot" appears to have great value and importance in the marketing world. So, how many original, unique, and memorable ways are there to communicate spicy "hot" anyway? As to memorable, perhaps painfully memorable, Paris Hilton apparently sells designer clothes under her "That’s Hot" brand, and judging from… Continue Reading
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...
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...
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...
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...
Martha Engel
Although my interest in gadgetry and my aptitude for math eventually led me to become an engineer, my ad executive father and artistically gifted mother fostered an appreciation for the creative from a young age. More...
Anjali Shankar
When I was in elementary and middle school, I loved writing short stories. Creativity and imagination seem to come naturally to people when they are young. More...
Timothy Sitzmann
I have always considered myself to be a creative person. Full disclosure: I'm not claiming that I've created anything good, merely that I have created things that exist.More...