Well, it is opening day at the 2015 Minnesota State Fair, it was a great day, perfect weather, thank you very much!
Happy to see that Lulu’s Public House is going strong, she appears to have some new food items this year, and they look amazing — a Minnesota Wild Rice Benedict Muffin and a Mac & Cheese Cupcake! Can’t wait to try them.
We’re not sure what happened to the lawsuit, the trademark infringement suit that was filed last year by Lulu’s Market & Deli from St. Paul, anyone know?
As you know, from following this blog over the past more than six years, intellectual property issues abound at the State Fair, so I couldn’t resist defying the signage at one vendor in the West End, and snapping the above shot to make a point.
Having said that, as a courtesy, I respectfully cropped out the yard and exterior sculptures that I presume the sign was intended to address — such things can, of course, be subject to both design patent protection and copyright protection, and even non-traditional trademark protection, assuming the configuration and/or trade dress is non-functional and distinctive.
Trade secrets would not apply since these sculptures are on public display. I’m thinking the vendor probably is focused on copyright, if so, the sign doesn’t constitute a valid copyright notice, but most probably get the point. Please is present perhaps in recognition of fair use?
The ultimate point here is, everyone is thinking about intellectual property these days, but few understand it, that’s why we’re here, so thank you for spending time with us.