Last month I mentioned a trademark bullying webinar available through Minnesota Continuing Legal Education (MinnCLE), here. Tuition was $95 for 75 minutes of action-packed discussion on this very hot topic, so, a real bargain. Now, MinnCLE is graciously making it available for viewing free, here, so enjoy. (No CLE credit). By way of preview, yours truly set up the topic… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Trademark Laws
Trademark Attorneys & Verified USPTO Statements
Posted in Almost Advice, Law Suits, Trademarks, TTAB"Just because you can," is rarely a good reason to support a decision that really matters. This principle is no less true in the trademark world than it is elsewhere. So, relying on your own navigation of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) online search database without also seeking a trademark attorney’s competent analysis of the… Continue Reading
Want Pancakes With That Prayer?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Famous Marks, Food, Goodwill, Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Trademarks—Alan Bergstrom, Beyond Philosophy IHOP (International House of Pancakes) recently filed a lawsuit to prevent another group, International House of Prayer, from using its trademarked acronym. According to the trademark infringement filing, IHOP has repeatedly asked the religious group to drop the use of the acronym IHOP, which is a registered trademark for its franchised… Continue Reading
Trademark Fraud = Reckless Disregard For The Truth?
Posted in TrademarksAaron Keller was busy yesterday making weighty predictions about the basis for our next economy: The Designed Economy. As I prepare to provide attendees at the Midwest IP Institute tomorrow with a trademark fraud update – today, I thought I’d provide a preview – and even go out on a small limb – making a couple of predictions of my own, relating… Continue Reading
IP Grammar . . . and Those Who Cringe About It
Posted in Mixed Bag of NutsLast September, in my blog post entitled "What Does Trademarked Mean to You?," I wrote: More than a few trademark types cringe when their clients or others say things like "let’s trademark it," "they didn’t trademark their logo," or "we don’t want to trademark this name," and, when they ask questions like "is it trademarked?"… 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
More On The Fordless Blue Oval
Posted in Branding, Dilution, Famous Marks, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Sight, TrademarksWhat do you think, is Overstock.com selling bling with the Fordless blue oval logo? As you may recall from my post back in September, Ford Motor Company is attempting to register the below shown non-verbal logo as a trademark for a variety of goods in Int’l Class 12: And, as you may recall from Dan’s I See Blue Ovals post… Continue Reading
Dialing in on Trademark Abandonment?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Sight, SoapBox, TrademarksWhat do these photos have in common, besides the fact that they are both from Roadsidepictures‘ beautiful photostream collection posted on Flickr? Well, one might say, they both illustrate a form of abandonment, an abandoned building on the left, and apparently some abandoned intellectual property in the form of a clock logo and ’round the… Continue Reading
True Lies, Trademark Fraud, and the Medinol Detour
Posted in Almost Advice, Law Suits, Loss of Rights, Trademarks, TTABTrademark types: As promised, here are some of my more detailed thoughts and perspectives (at least for the time being) on the most significant trademark case of the year: In re Bose. Thanks to Thomson Reuters for asking me to share them with their readers. I look forward to some great dialogue on the likely… Continue Reading
Blue Oval, But Look Mom, No Words!
Posted in Branding, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, TrademarksWhat does this image signify to you? For full credit, please answer the question before peeking back at Dan’s popular post called "I See Blue Ovals."
What Does “Trademarked” Mean to You?
Posted in Marketing, TrademarksMore than a few trademark types cringe when their clients or others say things like "let’s trademark it," "they didn’t trademark their logo," or "we don’t want to trademark this name," and, when they ask questions like "is it trademarked?" or "is that trademarked software?" or "did we ever trademark our logo?" or "should we… Continue Reading
Lion’s Tap Shouldn’t Have Sued. At Least Not So Soon.
Posted in Advertising, Almost Advice, Branding, Food, Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, TrademarksA brief study in how the Lion’s Tap could have had its burger and eaten it too. I have to say, in the interest of full disclosure, I have an irrational love for the Lion’s Tap. Ever since I worked in Eden Prairie back in the 1990s, I’ve been hooked. Fast forward the better part of… Continue Reading
CAFC Redirects TTAB in Trademark Fraud Ruling Today: In re Bose Decided
Posted in Law Suits, Loss of Rights, Trademarks, TTABToday is a really, really big day for trademark types. As many of us have been saying for a couple of years now, trademark fraud (i.e., fraud on the U.S. Trademark Office) continues to be one of the hottest issues facing trademark owners and the attorneys who represent them. Perhaps after today, not so much, but who really… Continue Reading
Is Twitter¬Æ “Following” Kool-Aid¬Æ, Mickey Mouse¬Æ, and Spam¬Æ?
Posted in Branding, Social NetworkingWhat does Twitter have in common with Kool-Aid, Mickey Mouse, and Spam? Maybe nothing, at least yet, but I predict that it will soon, unless Twitter retains some talented PR help in a hurry. Why? The Kool-Aid, Mickey Mouse, and Spam brands all have spawned secondary or alternate and negative non-trademark meanings that have become part of the English… Continue Reading
The FURminator® and Ads Touting Utility: Marking the Termination of Product Configuration Trademark Protection?
Posted in Advertising, Look-For Ads, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, TrademarksIf FURminator Inc. were looking for a pitchman to promote and increase sales of the "famous" FURminator® pet grooming tool, and recognizing the recent, sudden and unforfunate passing of famous bearded TV pitchman Billy Mays (who could sell household products better than just about anyone, and still appears to be doing so after his passing), I’m thinking that the fictional cyborg assassin… 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...