Who comes to mind when I list the following character traits: lives in a dystopian metropolis, has a deceased parent, fights criminals, rides a motorcycle, has seemingly-superhero strength, is fearless, has dark hair, and–oh, by the way–his name is “Wayne.” More than that, you learn all these facts about Wayne by watching a trailer for
After Battles for Fees, Victory for Comic Con and (partially) Grumpy Cat
The battle for attorneys’ fees after an intense trademark dispute often leaves many prevailing parties empty handed. This is because the Lanham Act only provides for attorneys’ fees in “exceptional cases.” Congress’s (and courts’) reluctance to award attorneys’ fees stems from the “American Rule,” which provides that each party to a
Buc-ee’s Beaver Chomps Reptilian Competitor
About a week ago, we reported on an interesting case out of the Southern District of Texas involving two competing convenience stores with cartoon animal mascots: Buc-ee’s (a beaver) and Choke Canyon (an alligator).
As someone who has personally visited Buc-ee’s stores, I can tell you that they are quite the destination. Buc-ee’s tend to
Trader Joe’s Takes on Trademark “Schmo”
In recent USPTO news, Trader Joe’s, the supermarket chain known for its eclectic and unique foodstuffs, recently filed an opposition to registration of the mark “Trader Schmo,” which is described as designating a wide variety of Kosher foods. Understandably, Trader Joe’s took issue with the mark, and particularly its use in the
A Real Lulu of a Trademark Infringement Case
It’s that time of year again, the Minnesota State Fair is here, and trademark issues abound, again.
We’re actually not covering the trademark fair issue we planned to cover today because we just caught wind of a lulu of a trademark infringement case filed on Friday of last week against a brand new
Swoosh & Striped Shoes?
A little over a year ago, I pondered about whether anyone might be confused into believing Nike and Adidas had teamed up, given this shoe display:
After having spent a fair bit of time in various retail shoe stores with two of my boys over the weekend, I’m asking the same questions again, given
Nike and Adidas on the Same Team?
Knowing how Adidas (or should I say, adidas) jealously guards its three stripe design on shoes, and is notorious for protecting against not only three, but two and four stripe buffers as well, my eyes were drawn to this display of Nike Shox sport shoes at our local Finish Line retail store.
Head-To-Head Brand Baiting: Kindle App for iPad?
–Dan Kelly, Attorney
Steve has posted several times on “brand baiting” gimmicks–typically involving spam-type e-mails with enticing pictures or offers of well-known products or brands as rewards for “participation” . . . in, well, God knows what. (Steve’s previous posts here, here, and here.) Take a glance at them just to get
iPad, the Latest Brand Bait?
Putting aside, for now, the unsettled question of who currently owns the iPad trademark, and Dan’s perspective on Apple’s trademark clearance strategies, from last week, look at what our finely-tuned e-mail spam filter just snagged:
It is a similar story to my previous Free Dell XPS Laptop Spam Scam? blog post from last December. Here, however, the Apple, iPad, and the (possible)
Is Wal-Mart Giving Away Free $1,000 Gift Cards?
Same drill as yesterday. Another email spam scam? More trademark fair use abuse?
Is it just me, or is the branded email spam coming out of the virtual woodwork, or what?
It appears that spam email — complete with fully branded solicitations — is becoming more and more aggressive, both from legal and technology perspectives.
We