There 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
Tag Archives: Suggestive Trademarks
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 Monster Mash of Halloween Store Marks
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Dilution, MarketingIt’s that time of year again, when retail stores featuring ghosts, goblins, and all things spooky begin to appear. This year multiple parties went trick or treating at the USPTO to register their trademarks for Halloween retail store services, and apparently they weren’t all reading Steve’s post from earlier this year regarding party store names. Some… Continue Reading
Primitive & Impolite, But Non-Vulgar Trademark & Naming Technique?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Marketing, TrademarksOn a recent pilgrimage to my home town to visit the University of Iowa and to see the Hawkeyes play football again in hallowed Kinnick Stadium, I discovered that a rather rudimentary and perhaps impolite (or potty mouth), yet passionate (sorry Nancy) branding technique, is alive and kicking in Iowa City. I also learned what now appears to go hand-in-hand (or, perhaps leg-in-hands as… Continue Reading
Taking Branding Cues from Q in the Single-Letter Trademark Queue
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Marketing, Trademarks, TruncationWelcome to another edition of AlphaWatch (the next one in our queue), where we explore the reach of single-letter trademarks, this time focusing on the letter Q and the single-letter branding cues it might suggest to consumers: Are you able to name the un-truncated version of this single-letter mark and brand? My daughter could. The answer is… Continue Reading
Seth Godin on Subtlety: The Trademark Perspective
Posted in Branding, Goodwill, Look-For Ads, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, TrademarksSeth Godin’s recent post entitled Subtlety, deconstructed, struck a chord with me, and should strike a chord with all trademark types and the brand owners they represent. Here is my favorite excerpt: Subtle design and messaging challenge the user to make her own connections instead of spelling out every detail. Connections we make are more powerful than… Continue Reading
Crowded Trademark Parties & Coexisting Store Names
Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, Food, Infringement, Loss of Rights, Marketing, TrademarksIf you don’t mind the wait, a crowded parking lot is often a good strategy when hunting for an excellent restaurant while you’re in unfamiliar territory. Similarly, a large crowd lining up outside a retail store is typically a good sign that the business is doing something right, or perhaps, they just happen to have something rare that everyone wants…. Continue Reading
Environmentally Friendly Brands: Blue A Cleaner Choice Than Green
Posted in Branding, Trademarks, TTABAre you able to identify BlueCar from these two images? How about green, do you see a green car here? And, no, we’re not testing for envy or color blindness. Easy, right? Not so fast . . . .
It’s Official, Duets Marks Federally Registered
Posted in Branding, Marketing, Squirrelly Thoughts, TrademarksLest you missed the prior (absence of) fanfare from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), we thought you should know (now you have not only constructive notice, but actual notice and knowledge of these valuable and important rights) that we are the proud parents (for those of you who personalize your company’s or client’s trademarks as… Continue Reading
Which “Would You Rather” Would You Rather Play?
Posted in Branding, Dilution, Law Suits, TrademarksA couple of weeks ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court that had held that the federally registered trademark "WOULD YOU RATHER . . . ?" was merely descriptive as applied to books and games. (PDF of appellate opinion here.) Briefly, the facts are that Falls Media owns the aforementioned trademark registration,… Continue Reading
Pizza Branding Goes Back to the Basics
Posted in Branding, Food, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, TrademarksGuest Blogger Anthony Shore of Operative Words, recently wrote about the naming pendulum swinging away from arbitrary names and back toward brand names having an honest, straightforward, and even humble quality, in Truth is Stronger Than Fiction. Another way of saying it might be: naming is going back to the basics. I recently came across a good example… Continue Reading
Grilling Some Barbecue Brands
Posted in Branding, Loss of Rights, TrademarksAs evidenced on these very pages over the past year or so, there does seem to be a general divide between legal types and marketing types about the desirability of descriptive trademarks and brands. This is understandable. There is a direct tension here. More descriptive marks and brands carry more information to a consumer and… 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...