What does Google have in common with Sasquatch? Well, perhaps one possible point of similarity is that if you mess with either, you might get yourself seriously messed up in the process. With respect to the defensive power of Sasquatch, a local Wisconsin business success story, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, has gotten much notoriety with its series of hilarious 30-second television… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Trademark Litigation
3M v. Shoplet (A Post-It Brand Stick Up?)
Posted in Law SuitsLast Friday Twin Cities Business and the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on 3M’s recent trademark infringement case filed against online retailer Shoplet. In case you haven’t seen it yet, here is a pdf of the complaint. It asserts a variety of violations of 3M’s exclusive rights in the federally-registered POST-IT trademark, including federal trademark infringement, false designation of… Continue Reading
USPTO Issues Report to Congress on Trademark Litigation Tactics (f/k/a/ “Trademark Bullying”)
Posted in Infringement, Trademarks, TTABHat tip to Jack Clifford for providing a copy of the USPTO’s April 27, 2011 Report to Congress, pdf is here. I’ll be certain to circle back with you for another good "trademark bullying" discussion after digesting it.
Some Trademarks Die Hard, Some Are Just Numb
Posted in Branding, Dilution, Famous Marks, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, TrademarksLikelihood of confusion? Likelihood of dilution? Blurring? Tarnishment? All to the left? To closely examine Sears’ most recent trademark infringement and dilution law suit and complaint concerning the DIEHARD brand against the maker of DieHard Spray ("a numbing agent for male genitalia"), check out Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Rockhard Laboratories, Inc., venued in the Northern District… Continue Reading
Numbers for Thought & The “Trademark Bully” Debate
Posted in Trademarks, TTAB"Trademark law is a complex, specialized area of law," according to the International Trademark Association (INTA), as set forth in a recent communication to the USPTO. So, I must ask, does substantial experience or the lack of substantial experience in handling trademark matters impact the current trademark bullying debate? And, if so, how? Here are some interesting numbers… Continue Reading
View Free Webinar Here: Strategies for Dealing With “Trademark Bullies”
Posted in Trademarks, TTABLast 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
False Start? Riedell v. Adidas
Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, Law Suits, TrademarksLast month there was some press about a pair of trademark infringement lawsuits between Adidas (sorry marketing types, I just can’t do the lower case letter "a" in "adidas") and Riedell over the number of stripes appearing on their sports footwear products. You may recall, while we’re on the subject of stripes, that I previously… Continue Reading
INTELligent Trademark Enforcement?
Posted in Dilution, Domain Names, Famous Marks, Infringement, Law Suits, 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
Facebook Needs Dislike Option for Lamebook
Posted in First Amendment, Infringement, Law Suits, Social NetworkingLike most 20-somethings who went to college during the rise of this social media monster, I am quite familiar with Facebook. However, I wasn’t aware of the website Lamebook until the current legal dispute began. Lamebook, a self-proclaimed, “humor blog” was designed to allow people to share the most “ridiculous” things posted on Facebook. The Lamebook website is… 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
PING Golf Plays Nice, Profits from Trademark Deal with Apple
Posted in Agreements, Branding, Famous Marks, Goodwill, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Trademarks—Andrew Miller, Intern, Fast Horse Inc. In terms of name recognition, PING is to golf what Louisville Slugger is to baseball, so you’re right if you found it odd Apple would name its new music-based social network, of all things, Ping. Apple is no stranger to trademark litigation after wrangling with Cisco (“iPhone”) and… Continue Reading
Tilting At Windmills and Counterfeit Trademark Designs?
Posted in Branding, Dilution, Famous Marks, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, TrademarksMy first oral argument, as a very young lawyer, involved a small discovery dispute in a trademark case, in which there were complaints about inadequate and deficient discovery responses. During the hearing, the U.S. Magistrate Judge who decided the motion said something to the effect that my client’s positions reminded him of tilting at windmills. Needless to… Continue Reading
Rocker and Reality Star Settles Suit Regarding Trademark
Posted in TrademarksBand names are big merchandising business, including t-shirts, hats, posters and other paraphernalia. When checking the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) website for other band trademarks, I was not surprised that the lead singer and savvy businessperson Jon Bon Jovi (a.k.a. John Bongiovi) owns the Bon Jovi® trademark himself. Eighties band REO Speedwagon set… Continue Reading
Texas Toasted? How to Slice the Trademark Spectrum of Distinctiveness
Posted in Branding, Fair Use, Food, Infringement, Law Suits, Marketing, Trademarksv. Texas Toast is the generic name for a type of bread, you know, the big thick double-cut slices. Anyone can call their bread Texas Toast if that is what they are selling, and, by the way, it doesn’t have to be toasted for the name to fit. But, what if you’re selling a product made from bread, say, croutons?… Continue Reading
Name That (Zombie) Brand
Posted in Guest BloggersLosing a trademark challenge is bad news, right? It’s costly, it’s embarrassing, and it can damage a brand’s reputation. And yet in one well-known instance, losing a trademark challenge didn’t hurt a brand at all. In fact, it ensured the brand’s immortality. The product name I’m thinking of existed for just three years in the… 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
Subscribe
Add this blog to your feeds or enter your email in the box below and hit GO to subscribe by email.
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...