Restaurant trade dress is possible to own when the claimed trade dress is distinctive and non-functional, think Taco Cabana. Restaurant trade dress can be so unique in the marketplace that distinctiveness is presumed with a finding of inherent distinctiveness. When not so obviously unique, distinctiveness also can be established with the more difficult proof of secondary meaning. Remember 1992? The… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Restaurant Interior Design
Inherently Distinctive Product Packaging?
Posted in Branding, International, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Packaging, Sight, Social Networking, Trademarks, USPTOEarlier this month, we asked whether [yo]gurt(lab) has an inherently distinctive interior restaurant environment? This week, we’re focused on product packaging, and ask whether Spine Vodka has enough meat on the bones to satisfy the trademark test for an inherently distinctive product package design? This little gem of an image surfaced in a LinkedIn discussion where I learned… Continue Reading
Inherently Distinctive Restaurant Interior?
Posted in Branding, Domain Names, Food, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Sight, TrademarksWe recently focused our attention on a very unique-looking, dare I say distinctive, retail store exterior design; for a quick reminder, see here. The recent craze for self-serve frozen yogurt shops – where you pay by the ounce (or perhaps, by the pound), has us focused today on a pretty darn unique interior retail environment: This is… 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...
Cathleen Dahl
Trademarks and I met through a small job advertisement in the back of a local newspaper, and little did I know that I would spend the next 18 years (and counting) deriving a living from their existence and importance. More...