Christmas came and went, and here in Minnesota it was a bit brown and depressing looking outside. If only it would snow… Sigh. However, if you listen carefully you might hear it… no, it’s not the reindeer, but maybe some “listen for” advertising? This holiday season I’ve seen a few too many Lexus commercials… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Look-for
Snickers Cross-Section Trademark Notice
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Food, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Sight, TrademarksYou may recall about a year ago I did a post entitled "Delicious Trademarks: Candy Bar Cross-Section Trademarks?" I was reminded of this a couple of weeks ago when I snapped this photo, capturing what I believe to be the same point of sale display that inspired my original post: A couple of months ago I saw in a convenience store a large Snickers… Continue Reading
Uniform Look-For Advertising?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Look-For Ads, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, TrademarksSpring is in the air (at least here in Minneapolis) and so are some fresh examples of look-for advertising that actually avoid the use of those straitjacket words. As we have discussed before, look-for advertising is a powerful tool in developing non-traditional trademark rights in subject matter such as single color marks. Dan discussed it here, in… Continue Reading
Color Trademarks, Red Knobs, and Secondary Meaning
Posted in Branding, Goodwill, Infringement, Law Suits, Look-For Ads, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Sight, TrademarksMore on single color trademarks today. Eighteen months ago, Wolf Appliance obtained a federal trademark registration in connection with "a red knob or knobs" of "domestic gas and electric cooking appliances, namely, ranges, dual-fuel ranges, cooktops, and barbeque grills." Wolf put its registration to the test a couple of weeks ago in a federal trademark infringement… Continue Reading
An Increasingly Intense Ellipsis? dot, doT, dOT, DOT!
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Look-For Ads, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Sight, TrademarksAs you may recall, last month, we had some fun trying to solve the mystery of a non-traditional and non-verbal trademark owned by Amazon.com, here. This time the non-traditional and non-verbal mystery mark shown above is described in trademark filings as consisting of "four circles that increase in size from left to right." I call it… Continue Reading
A Trademark Touch: Owning and Protecting Touchmarks
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Packaging, Touch, TrademarksThe October/November issue of Brand Packaging magazine just hit the streets and I’m deeply honored to say that my piece entitled "A Trademark Touch: Strategies for Owning and Protecting Touchmarks" is this issue’s "cover story" (minus the skull and crossbones). The digital version can be read here. I hope you find it eye-opening in a… Continue Reading
One Way to Establish a Non-Traditional Trademark
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Food, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, SightDo you recognize this logo? Does it make you hungry? Ok, maybe not. Let’s try some word associations instead. I’ll list some words, and you just shout out the first thing that comes to mind for each one: CHEWNIVERSITY CHOMPENSATION SATISFLYING ANTIHUNGERESTABLISHMENTARIANISM How’d you do? The answer to this mystery is after the jump …. 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...