Given how much we know you enjoy the subject of non-traditional trademark protection, here is a recent one from Anheuser-Busch: The description of the mark reads: “The mark consists of a design feature of product packaging, namely, a red colored tab on a can, which features a crown design that is transparent. The dotted lines… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Trademark Registrations
Visa Branding: A Combined Alpha & Brand Verbing Alert
Posted in AlphaWatch, Branding, Marketing, TrademarksWe have been following the truncation trend to single-letter branding symbols for some time now. Visa appears to be heading in this direction with the relatively new V logo: Based on trademark filings at the USPTO, it appears Visa began using this single-letter V logo by itself back in 2008 with the launch of a… Continue Reading
Brilliant Trademark Advice or Baloney?
Posted in Almost Advice, Genericide, Marketing, TrademarksA few bits of trademark advice recently passed across my screen from The Marketing Blog: Turning Entrepreneurs Into Marketers – advice that I believe deserves some friendly comment and critique, leaving you to decide whether any of it rises to the level of brilliant trademark advice or sinks to the level of trademark baloney: "Trademark as you go. Don’t wait… Continue Reading
What Does “Trademark” Mean to You?
Posted in TrademarksInherent in the question posed by the title of this post is the fact that the word "trademark" has more than one meaning, in fact, multiple meanings in the English language. Yet, some trademark types would have you believe that there is only one true meaning to the word "trademark" and that this meaning is not… Continue Reading
How a Registered Trademark Protected My Small Business: A True Story
Posted in Guest Bloggers, Infringement, Trademarks—Linda McCulloch, President, Design That Works Communications Inc. Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away… OK, seriously, back in 1999, I decided to make a quantum leap from successful freelance graphic designer to a REAL COMPANY. I began working with the Small Business Development Services advisors and formed a plan. I would incorporate… Continue Reading
Does Size Matter, When Identifying a “Trademark Bully”?
Posted in Counterfeits, Infringement, Law Suits, TrademarksWho says that being a large corporate trademark owner is one of the prerequisites to earning the emotionally-charged, pejorative, and ill-defined label "trademark bully"? Well, the original directive to the USPTO appears to assume that "trademark bullying" is a one-way street, disfavoring only large corporate trademark owners, and ignoring the possibility that individuals and small businesses are equally capable of deserving… Continue Reading
The Brand Name Auction: Bargain or Bust?
Posted in Guest BloggersLaurel Sutton, Principal of Catchword Brand Name Development Back in December, Racebrook Marketing Concepts held a Brand Name Auction during which "150 Timeless Trademarks and Domains" were offered for sale. But the auction was more bust than boom: only about 50 people showed up, with a few more bidders participating online. The prices, too, were… Continue Reading
USPTO Extends Comment Period on “Trademark Bully” Survey
Posted in Infringement, Trademarks, TTABLast October, as you may recall, I wrote this in a post entitled "The Mark of a Real Trademark Bully": [T]he U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is currently seeking information about various litigation tactics, including whether "you think trademark “bullies” are currently a problem for trademark owners, and if so, how significant is the problem?" If you have… Continue Reading
What Serious Trademark Owners Do
Posted in TrademarksThere are many things that serious trademark owners do throughout the lifecycle of a trademark to mitigate risk, protect the valuable goodwill in their underlying brand, and preserve their valuable investment in this important intellectual property asset. Here is a fairly extensive, but certainly not exhaustive, and often forgotten, list of those things: Clear new marks before using them… Continue Reading
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
Registration Symbol Misuse As Trademark Fraud?
Posted in Marketing, Trademarks, TTABTrademark types frequently encounter brand owners and managers with substantial misunderstanding and confusion about when use of the federal registration notice symbol is lawful. Most of the time a misuse or technical violation results from an honest mistake, but sometimes the misuse is, and starts out intentional, or perhaps the misuse begins to look intentional if it isn’t promptly… Continue Reading
Collar + Cuffs = Stripper?
Posted in TrademarksIf there is any trademark case this year that has the media clamoring to create cute headlines, it may just be this one – In re Chippendales USA, Inc., decided by the Federal Circuit just six days ago. “Federal Circuit Leaves Chippendales Nearly Naked,” said The American Lawyer, “Judge ‘strips’ Chippendales of bid to beef… Continue Reading
What Happens in Vegas…May Burn You
Posted in TrademarksCityCenter Land, LLC, a subsidiary of MGM-Mirage, owns nine trademark registrations for VDARA, the name of one of the newest resorts in Las Vegas. Vdara is an all-suite building, has a spa, a restaurant, no casino gaming, and is non-smoking. It even has a “death ray.” Local and national news outlets and architecture blogs have… 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
Geographic Trademarks
Posted in TrademarksCalifornia media outlets reported yesterday that Oakland recently joined a boycott against Arizona due to the latter state’s passage of a new immigration bill, which requires police to question people about their immigration status if there’s reason to suspect they’re in the country illegally. Other cities considering boycotts include Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. … Continue Reading
What the *-)- Blogging From 30,000 Feet
Posted in Branding, Marketing, TrademarksSome things you should do, just because you can. For example, when I was sixteen, I jumped out of a plane at 3,000 feet, with a parachute tethered to the plane, of course, landing near a chicken farm, surrounded by barbed wire, somewhere in rural North Carolina. That was an experience I’ll never forget, but I haven’t repeated it, at least… Continue Reading
The Relevance of Third-Party Trademark Registrations
Posted in Famous Marks, Food, Infringement, Law Suits, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Product Configurations, Trademarks, TTABA lot can be learned from the easily searched trademark registrations existing on the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s online database. For example, Examining Attorneys at the USPTO will refuse registration based on prior confusingly similar registered marks, so responsible trademark owners will conduct the necessary searching and due diligence prior to adoption and first use…. Continue Reading
A Muppet’s a Muppet’s a Muppet
Posted in TrademarksLest you think this post is just an excuse to post the ridiculously viral video of The Muppets singing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” guess again. There is a trademark lesson here. Do I still have your attention? The lesson is this – you, the consumer, don’t need to know what the source of a good… 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...