Last week I had the distinct pleasure of participating in a ninety-minute webinar with my good friend, frequent and eloquent guest-blogger on DuetsBlog – Aaron Keller of Capsule – complete with some friendly banter on the following: "Hot Marketing Topics with Trademark and Legal Implications." Minnesota Continuing Legal Education has generously provided a link where the webinar can be viewed in its entirety, here. As you’ll… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Marketing Types
Visa Branding: A Combined Alpha & Brand Verbing Alert
Posted in AlphaWatch, Branding, Marketing, TrademarksWe have been following the truncation trend to single-letter branding symbols for some time now. Visa appears to be heading in this direction with the relatively new V logo: Based on trademark filings at the USPTO, it appears Visa began using this single-letter V logo by itself back in 2008 with the launch of a… Continue Reading
Quilted Toilet Paper Design Flushed As Functional
Posted in Law Suits, Loss of Rights, Non-Traditional Trademarks, TrademarksAs the court ruled, and repeatedly reminded: "Toilet paper. This case is about toilet paper." Just last week the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit enjoyed applying only a modicum of potty humor while deciding Georgia Pacific Consumer Products LP v. Kimberly-Clark Corporation, a case involving alleged non-traditional trademark rights in Georgia-Pacific’s Quilted Diamond… Continue Reading
Fellow Zealots:
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Domain Names, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Social Networking, Trademarks—Karl Schweikart, partner and co-creative director, 45 Degrees/Minneapolis It’s validating to discover that branding is not a topic just for designers to geek on. As a partner in a design firm focused on brand identity work, I find the community Duets has pulled together to be a vibrant and informative group to hang with. I… Continue Reading
Samuel Adams Better Beer Glass . . . No Trademark For You?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Product Packaging, Sight, TrademarksIf the "Soup Nazi" were employed as a Trademark Examining Attorney at the USPTO, he might be heard crabbing at the makers of Samuel Adams Boston Lager, were they to attempt to register or claim as a trademark the shape of their "new" beer glass from 2007, now almost four years old: "No trademark for you!" ("Best… 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
A Timely Introduction to Trademark Law
Posted in Branding, International, Marketing, TrademarksThis is your chance to get a solid introduction to trademark law and what some call trademarking. This amazing half day program on March 2, 2011, is being held in downtown Minneapolis, a pdf of the brochure is here. The speakers for the 9 AM CST morning session include: Stephen R. Baird, Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. (Dispelling Trademark… Continue Reading
Get Cozy and Toss Another Log on the Fire
Posted in Mixed Bag of NutsBecause, we plan to be here a while longer . . . . As DuetsBlog approaches the legal drinking age (whoops, I guess we’re only about 21 months old, not years, sorry), we’d like to pay special thanks to our guest bloggers, our loyal readers, our friends who spread the word through their tweets and in other ways, and especially… Continue Reading
When Holes in Markets Can’t Be Filled
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Product Packaging—David Mitchel, Vice President of Norton Mitchel Marketing Successful brands often find holes in markets that need to be filled. There are numerous examples to illustrate this point. Microsoft found a great niche in the computer software market and their success made Bill Gates one of the richest individuals on the planet. Apple’s iPod was… Continue Reading
Seth Godin Enlightens Linchpins in Minneapolis
Posted in Advertising, Branding, TrademarksMarketing maven, strategist, visionary, and best-selling author Seth Godin spent a day at Pantages Theater in Minneapolis last Thursday, providing much food for thought among not only the attending crowd, but those following the dialogue on Twitter too. The sushi and cupcake lunch Seth selected, and that we enjoyed, on the roof of neighboring Seven, was pretty nice too…. Continue Reading
“Hot Wheels” Casino Promotion: Apparently Not a Toy Story
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Dilution, Famous Marks, Marketing, Trademarks, TTABLast month I came across this enormous, larger than life, banner advertisement hanging from the exterior of a casino on our way to the backwoods of Wisconsin. Of course, this promotional piece took me back to my early childhood and called to mind my long lost enormous collection of Matchbox brand Hot Wheels toy cars and… Continue Reading
Subscribe
Add this blog to your feeds or enter your email in the box below and hit GO to subscribe by email.
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...