We 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
Tag Archives: verbed
When You Verb Your Trademark, You Know What?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Television, TrademarksWell, perhaps more than just about every trademark use guideline in existence, including those offered by the International Trademark Association (INTA) ("NEVER use a trademark as a verb"): (television commercial link on Youtube here) Maybe because you have been following the trademark verbing dialogue here on DuetsBlog and you have learned all about Managing The Legal Risk of… Continue Reading
Riding the Brandverb Wagon Without a Seat Belt
Posted in BrandingI heard a radio spot the other day for Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based department store retailer Kohl’s: "The More You Know, The More You Kohl’s." Apparently not a new example of brandverbing, yet it continues, despite the ridicule of being called "The Absolute DUMBEST Slogan Ever," enduring grammatical criticism from at least one employee, facing a federal… Continue Reading
Verbing the DirecTV Brand Name
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Genericide, Marketing, Television, TrademarksYet another brand name and trademark being promoted as a verb in the tagline or signature at the end of each television commercial: "Don’t Just Watch TV. DirecTV." For more on the subject of trademark verbing and the risk of genericide: Just Verb It? A Legal Perspective on Using Brands As Verbs: Part I Just Verb… Continue Reading
How Realistic is the Risk of Trademark Genericide?
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, TrademarksThe Grand Marshal in the Parade of Horribles, at least for some trademark types, is the one who forbids any deviation from the absolute "rule" against using brand names and trademarks as nouns or verbs, a standard "rule" commonly found in trademark use guidelines (only permitting the use of trademarks as adjectives). As I have written about previously, these "rules"… Continue Reading
Can You Rollerblade On K2 Brand In-Line Skates?
Posted in Mixed Bag of NutsThese kinds of signs — that appear to single out Rollerblade brand in-line skate loyalists – are all over the place. This one happens to be in the parking garage I use in downtown Minneapolis. To understand why the Rollerblade brand may find itself in this perilous position, read on, here. For some additional reading on the related question of verbing brands, take a… Continue Reading
Marketing Nirvana for Twitter?
Posted in Mixed Bag of NutsSome marketing types have said that having your brand name verbed by others is heavenly, well beyond flattery, kind of like a marketer’s Shangri-la. As you may recall, we have explored the legal implications of the verbing of brands here, here, here, and here. What about having your brand name used as a reference point in another’s advertising? If you’re the… Continue Reading
Managing The Legal Risk of “Verbing Up” Brands and Trademarks
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Domain Names, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, TrademarksTrademark lawyers need to face the facts. Despite decades of ardent counseling to the contrary, business executives and marketers are not only testing the waters with the treatment of their most valuable brands as verbs, in some cases, they are diving in head first, committing substantial resources and effort toward the clearly stated goal of "verbing up" and having their brands used as verbs by… Continue Reading
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
Just Verb It? Part III: Testing the “Slippery Slope” of Using Brands as Verbs
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, TrademarksAlthough intellectual property lawyers of the Dr. No variety may not like to admit it – I submit that, not all slippery slopes are created equal. While some slippery slope cautions might prevent a few bumps and bruises in traveling along a particular path (e.g., the one on the left below), I suspect far fewer slippery slope… Continue Reading
Just Verb It? Part II: A Legal Perspective on Using Brands As Verbs
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Food, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Search Engines, TrademarksIt is probably fair to say from my initial Just Verb It? post, the many articles referenced in that post, the substantial panel of commentary to the post, and additional interest in the topic, that at least two truths about "brandverbing" are beyond much, if any, debate: (1) Lawyers (including the International Trademark Association’s guidelines on proper trademark use) routinely advise brand… Continue Reading
Just Verb It? A Legal Perspective on Using Brands As Verbs: Part I
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Genericide, Loss of Rights, Marketing, TrademarksThere is a growing interest and, quite frankly, a dogged persistence among branding professionals to select brand names that have the ability and potential to be "verbed." This makes trademark attorney types nervous and those of the "Dr. No" variety actually become unglued. So, why the emphasis or fascination with verbs anyway? The answer apparently can be found in the definition of a… 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...
Derek Allen
In hindsight, writing about creativity and the law may have always been in the cards for me. I began training for a career in litigation at an early age by finding ways to disagree with pretty much anyone about pretty much anything. In my longest-running “case,” I argued with my middle school math teacher, Mrs. Jabs, for the better part of four years over whether, even if I got the right answer, I had to show my work to get full credit. 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...