So, 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
Tag Archives: Sponsorship
Baird on Branding & Trademarks
Posted in Advertising, Almost Advice, Branding, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Sight, Smell, Sound, Taste, Touch, TrademarksThere aren’t too many things I enjoy more than speaking about the legal implications of branding. Our friends at BlackCoffee captured a talk I gave to a group of marketing types a while back, on black and white film (thank goodness), and they have graciously posted a 34 minute excerpt, here. Some of the topics I… Continue Reading
Parking Lot Lures & Twins Brand Bait?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Fair Use, Goodwill, Infringement, Marketing, TrademarksGuys and gals on the street waiving orange flags aren’t the only parking lot lures in Twins Territory: We’ve talked before about how some of those doing business or advertising in close proximity to Minneapolis’ brand new Target Field – home to the Minnesota Twins – appear to see advantage in using the Twins name (and now logo, and/or trade… Continue Reading
The Meaning of “Readily Identified” in Trademark Nominative Fair Use
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Fair Use, Goodwill, Infringement, Marketing, TrademarksWe’ve talked a lot about the nominative fair use of trademarks. Remember the Cars.com billboard that used the Minnesota Twins name as brand bait? We had some discussion in the comments, where I said this about the Cars.com ad: Although the billboard doesn’t use the Twins script or logo, I still believe the stronger argument… Continue Reading
Fair Logo, Fair Use & Fair Politics? The Minnesota State Fair’s Trademark-on-a-Stick
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Copyrights, Dilution, Fair Use, Famous Marks, First Amendment, Food, Goodwill, Infringement, Marketing, Television, TrademarksThe newest fare at the Minnesota State Fair is not Camel-on-a-Stick, Buffalo-on-a-Stick, or any other kind of Food-on-a-Stick, but rather, Trademark-on-a-Stick. Earlier this week, the Minnesota State Fair (owned and operated by the Minnesota State Agricultural Society, a Minnesota State Agency) was hot to skewer the unauthorized use of its nearly three-decade-old and more recently trademarked logo, by incumbent Republican U.S. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, in a political ad… Continue Reading
A Longer, Unnecessary Name for the Volvo Brand?
Posted in Advertising, Audio, Branding, Fair Use, Marketing, TrademarksSomeone who is in the business of repairing Volvo brand automobiles has the right to say so, in advertising, and elsewhere – without obtaining advance permission from Volvo – provided consumers aren’t likely to understand the advertisement or communication to mean that the repair services and/or the business providing them is authorized by, affiliated with, or otherwise connected to… Continue Reading
Ambush Marketing With A Twist of Twins Brand Bait?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Infringement, Marketing, TrademarksWith the brand new outdoor Target Field located in downtown Minneapolis, the buzz is palpable, and there is certainly more foot and other forms of traffic, especially on the end of town closest to where the Minnesota Twins now play their home games. Given that increased traffic I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that some businesses will… Continue Reading
Likelihood of Confusion (As to What?)
Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Branding, Contracts, Famous Marks, Goodwill, Marketing, TrademarksWho is responsible for this billboard ad? Is it a Google advertisement? Verizon? Motorola? Droid? Whatever the answer, it helps make the point visually that trademarks require protection beyond mere confusion as to source; basically, the same point we made a while back (in response to Seth Godin’s trademark position and then during a friendly sparring match with Ron Coleman), as we discussed the breadth of the… 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
Tiger’s Personal Brand of Apology?
Posted in Branding, MarketingPutting aside the questions of whether Tiger Woods needed to or should have made a public apology, the timing of it, and even the content of it, now that Brand Tiger made the decision to do so and did so last Friday, I’m interested more with how Tiger conveyed it and the likely impact it will have on his personal… Continue Reading
iPad, the Latest Brand Bait?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Dilution, Fair Use, Famous Marks, Infringement, Marketing, Product Configurations, Sight, TrademarksPutting aside, for now, the unsettled question of who currently owns the iPad trademark, and Dan’s perspective on Apple’s trademark clearance strategies, from last week, look at what our finely-tuned e-mail spam filter just snagged: It is a similar story to my previous Free Dell XPS Laptop Spam Scam? blog post from last December. Here, however, the Apple, iPad, and the (possible) iPad configuration… Continue Reading
Accenture’s New Ad Campaign: Elephants, Frogs, & Tiger, Oh My!
Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Branding, Contracts, Goodwill, MarketingEarlier this month, I noted Accenture’s words in publicly ending its relationship with Tiger Woods, having announced around December 13, 2009, that it would "immediately transition" to a new ad campaign, and then compared those words to the company’s actions in continuing to run the Tiger Woods airport ads even three weeks after their termination announcement. Right after Accenture’s announcement, Going… Continue Reading
Sensory Overload
Posted in AdvertisingAs an attorney, one of my most oft-committed sins against the art of persuasion is forgetting that brevity is key. Get in, deliver your message, and get out. In contrast, concise delivery of a message is something that good branding and advertising generally excel at. I say "generally," because as I was sitting at/in/on/around/near Mall of… Continue Reading
The Roar of Tiger Woods in Branding
Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Branding, Contracts, Guest Bloggers, MarketingThe impact of the Tiger Woods scandal in branding can be viewed from two different perspectives. The first perspective comes from the point of view of the companies that paid Woods to endorse their products. The second perspective is how the personal brand of Tiger Woods will be impacted as the smoke clears from this… Continue Reading
Irreparable Harm to the Accenture Brand?
Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Branding, Contracts, Goodwill, Infringement, Marketing, TrademarksWhen brands and trademarks are at risk of being infringed, swift and immediate protective action is required, given the inherently reputational nature of the resulting damage. That is why the law typically presumes the necessary "irreparable damage" when issuing immediate injunctive relief, once a plaintiff is able to show, among other things, that it is likely to win its trademark infringement claim. Without… Continue Reading
Is Wal-Mart Giving Away Free $1,000 Gift Cards?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Fair Use, Infringement, Marketing, TrademarksSame drill as yesterday. Another email spam scam? More trademark fair use abuse? Is it just me, or is the branded email spam coming out of the virtual woodwork, or what? It appears that spam email – complete with fully branded solicitations — is becoming more and more aggressive, both from legal and technology perspectives. We… Continue Reading
Free Dell XPS Laptop Spam Scam?
Posted in Advertising, Fair Use, Marketing, TrademarksWhat if you were told that if you agreed to "test" a Dell XPS laptop you could keep it, for free? Would you expect the offer to be from Dell Computer? After all, who else but the manufacturer would care to give a computer away for simply having you test it? Would you at least expect… Continue Reading
A Business Lesson, Courtesy of Larry Flynt
Posted in TrademarksThe Associated Press reported last week that adult entertainment pioneer Larry Flynt, the creator of the famous, and infamous, Hustler Magazine, scored a victory in his trademark infringement suit against his estranged nephews, who are also in the family business. The nephews, Jimmy Flynt, Jr. and Justin Flynt, launched their business after their uncle fired… 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...
Joy S. Newborg
When I took a personality/career test in high school to determine which path in life I should follow, I was told I should either be in broadcast journalism or law. So after I went to undergraduate school for broadcast journalism and film/television, I went on to obtain my law degree from the University of Minnesota. 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...