This past week I’ve been pondering a question of great importance: When might a straitjacket double as a life vest? The answer actually arrived last Monday during INTA’s “The Ethics of Trademark Bullying” panel discussion at the 135th Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas. In so many words, our good friend and wise guy Ron Coleman, over at… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Ron Coleman
Pepsi, No Coke: Branding Nonsense at Work?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Food, MarketingIrony is something I enjoy capturing, as you already know, especially when it comes to branding. Take this recent image from my favorite hot dog joint in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Yesterdog: Note the vintage Drink Coca-Cola signage on the wall, directly behind the modern soft drink fountain, delivering only Pepsi products, to my great disappointment. Now,… Continue Reading
Insuring a Great Super Bowl Trademark Fight
Posted in Advertising, Almost Advice, Articles, Branding, Fair Use, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Trademark Bullying, TrademarksSo, tomorrow is the big day, the big game, or whatever else other intimidated advertisers might call it. I just want to find the best deal on a flat screen television today! But, more to Mike Masnick’s point on Techdirt about the NFL’s reputation as a “trademark bully,” and his challenge to advertisers — “It’s the Super Bowl…. Continue Reading
AlphaWatch on the Streets of San Francisco
Posted in AlphaWatch, Branding, Marketing, TrademarksSomething like 8,000 trademark attorneys are wandering loose on the streets of San Francisco for the International Trademark Association’s annual meeting. Once again, the main attraction was "Meet the Bloggers" — this edition happened to be "Meet the Bloggers VII" — where a record crowd crammed into Swig Bar a few hours ago, from 8:00 – 10:00 PM. Thanks Marty, John, and Ron for another great event!… Continue Reading
Post-Sale Initial Interest Trademark Confusion?
Posted in Branding, Marketing, TrademarksTwo of the above magazine titles were displayed on the coffee table of the condo that we rented over our recent spring break vacation (the first and third from the left). My first reaction was, good grief, The Oprah "owns" coffee table tops in Grand Cayman too! My family members also wondered about a possible connection… Continue Reading
INTELligent Trademark Enforcement?
Posted in Dilution, Domain Names, Famous Marks, Infringement, Law Suits, Trademark Bullying, TrademarksWhat is the difference between a semiconductor computer chip maker and an electrician? Not much, at least when both have the word “intel” in their business names, according to a Complaint (complete with Exhibits) filed last Thursday in Minnesota federal district court, by Intel Corporation a/k/a Chipzilla, against a pair of Elk River, Minnesota electricians doing business… Continue Reading
Boston Bound for INTA Annual Meeting
Posted in TrademarksSince we have descended upon Boston, like just about every other trademark attorney in the world, for the annual meeting of the International Trademark Association (INTA), I’ll attempt to keep my remarks short and sweet today. Basically, I’m confident that the highlight of the INTA annual meeting (that has been observed to require an overhaul, to put it mildly) will be the unsponsored, unendorsed,… Continue Reading
Trademark Initial Interest Confusion: It’s The Real Thing
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Infringement, Keyword Ads, Marketing, TrademarksA little while back I wrote about the Likelihood of Confusion test in Trademark Law and how it protects trademark owners against much more than simply likelihood of confusion as to source. I also wrote about how Wolf Appliance was able to convince a federal judge in Wisconsin to grant a preliminary injunction barring Viking Range from selling a… Continue Reading
The D-Word: What Ever You Do, Don’t “Describe” Your Brand!
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, TrademarksFrequently brand owners find themselves in the position of wanting or needing to explain the thinking behind their name, mark, and/or brand. Sometimes the explanations appear publicly on product packaging, websites, catalogs, brochures, advertising, and frequently in press releases, or perhaps in statements to reporters, especially when trademark litigation concerning the brand is involved. Such explanations about the brand’s… 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...