Tiffany & Co. made some waves over the past several weeks when it featured a same sex couple in its “Will You?” engagement campaign. Tiffany is the first “famous” brands to take this path, and they are undoubtedly hoping this campaign will pay high dividends after disappointing holiday sales.
Personally, I applaud Tiffany for taking
Last week was the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, one of the top trade shows in the automotive industry. The highlight of the show for car buffs was the new Ford GT, which I will try not to drool too much over its beauty and power. You can see below and hear for
– Draeke Weseman, Weseman Law Office, PLLC
On Monday, the University of Oregon and The Ohio State University will play in college football’s first College Football Playoff championship game. DuetsBlog has previously covered the trademark issues surrounding BCS Properties’ attempt to register College Football Playoff as a trademark in connection with college football playoff games here. Even if College Football Playoff ultimately fails as a trademark, Monday’s championship game will be awash in trademarks and intellectual property. Consider this your DuetsBlog guide to the game.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
We’ll start with Oregon, and begin with a little history. In 1859, Congress required Oregon to set aside land for a state university as a condition for admittance into the Union. Oregon chose land in Eugene, and, in the mid-1870s, began building what is today the University of Oregon®, or Oregon®, or just UO®. Although all eyes will be on the Oregon Ducks’® football team on Monday night, Eugene may be better known to many as Track Town USA® thanks to the success of Oregon’s track team under Bill Bowerman in the 1960s and 70s. During that time Bill Bowerman introduced jogging to the American public, coached the legend Steve Prefontaine, met Phil Knight, and started Nike, Inc.
Nike has maintained a strong relationship with Oregon ever since, hiring grad Tinker Hatfield in the 80s to design Air Jordan shoes (but not the ones blogged about here) and grad Dan Weiden’s agency Weiden-Kennedy, to coin the tag line “Just Do It” while developing TV ads like “Bo Knows” to sell newly invented cross-training shoes (also designed by Tinker Hatfield.) Today, Nike designs not only Oregon’s football uniforms, but also the special uniforms for all four teams that played in the College Football Playoffs, branding them from head to toe, and even hands:
For those interested, these uniform deals are influential, lucrative, and signed on a team-by-team basis.Continue Reading Topics of Conversation for Your College Football Playoff Party
Three months ago we discussed a “trademark bullying” allegation against Monster Energy, detailed in a declaratory judgment complaint filed in Montana federal district court by energy-drink competitor Victory Energize.
Last week, Law360 reported the case settled on confidential terms, and the claims were dismissed with prejudice, at Victory Energize’s request, so the “trademark
In the context of the holiday season, what comes to mind when you see a shiny bright red star?
If you’re reading this post from Russia, perhaps the top of a New Year Tree is brought to mind.
Of course, I have brands on my mind, and it has been hard to miss the
Now that Thanksgiving is over, Americans across the country are taking some time to relax, reflect, and digest. I know I will be doing all three, after enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving Day surrounded by family, friends, food, and, yes, trademarks.
Even in the midst of one of the most significant holidays I still couldn’t quite
– Chuck Sanchez, BatesMeron Sweet Design
Comcast. Electronic Arts. AT&T. Walmart. Dell. Time Warner. Fox News. McDonald’s.
Chances are, at least one of those company names kind of pissed you off just now.
Despite this likelihood, each of these brands is immediately recognizable due to widespread financial success in its respective industry. So must a
It isn’t often that Forbes and Arcade Sushi are reporting on the same story. But some news is so big, so ground breaking, and so important that all media outlets cannot, in good moral consciousness, fail to comply with their duty to inform the public. Obviously, I’m talking about Microsoft’s potential reboot of the Battletoads
Earlier this week, Converse launched an all-out offensive to combat what it considers counterfeit and knock-off versions of its Chuck Taylor All-Star line of sneakers. Reports peg the number as at least 22 separate lawsuits against more than 30 companies, both in district court and at the International Trade Commission (the “ITC”). The defendants read
When I moved from Minnesota to Wisconsin to go to college, among the local customs that I had to get acclimated to were the revulsion against the word “pop” for carbonated beverages named “soda;” hearing classmates say “I just need to find the time machine” when they meant an ATM branded with Tyme; and the