#TheDress phenomenon is about to shape the future of color trademarks and trade dress rights.

You may recall, we have written a great deal on the subject of non-traditional trademark protection of colors, especially during the Christian Louboutin red-soled shoe trademark lessons, but more recently we wrote about the legal implications of color selections

Simon Bennett and Rachel Cook Fox Williams LLP

Chocolate giants Nestle and Cadbury have been trading blows in the UK and European Courts for several years. This latest round in front of the UK Court of Appeal related to Cadbury’s application to register the color purple (to be specific Pantone 2685C) for the packaging of

Yesterday Thomson Dawson of the Blake Project published an interesting blog post on the Branding Strategy Insider called “The Importance of Color in Branding Strategy.” It is an important read for both marketing types and trademark types, both for what it says, and what it doesn’t say.

How color impacts and induces certain

There is no point to spending money on advertising if those experiencing it don’t understand who’s communicating about what brand, right?

So, as drivers quickly pass by this attractive roadside billboard sign, how do they know who put out the ad? There must be a brand signature, right?

Certainly there can be no signature or

As promised, here are some further thoughts, lessons learned, and remaining unanswered questions concerning the recent and long-anticipated decision of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Christian Louboutin S.A. v. Yves Saint Laurent Am. Holding, Inc.

Lessons Learned for Marketing Types:

  • Single color trademarks may be owned, registered, and protected when

Brand owners and managers may wonder, is a trademark license required when another’s unregistered color scheme is used? Depending on the facts, it may very well be.

About four years ago brand owners scored a major victory in LSU v. Smack Apparel, when the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to the existence and

Little did I know when I was writing What’s in an Orange-Colored Home Improvement Business Name? — that two days later, orange-color marks would be asserted in a trademark infringement lawsuit filed in Minnesota federal district court over competing building construction services: Cedar Valley Exteriors, Inc. v. JNS Builders LLC. A copy of the

–Susan Perera, Attorney

Last week Jim Hammerand at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported on locally based Buffalo Wild Wings (also known as “B-Dubs”) ending its lawsuit against Buffalo Wings & Rings, the suit had included claims of trademark and trade dress infringement.

It appears that under the terms of the settlement agreement, Buffalo