-Wes Anderson, Attorney
Reading over this story on Donald Trump’s decades of headaches (and conveniently-timed successes) with the TRUMP trademark and the Chinese Trademark Office, I was reminded, as I always am, of the importance of filing federal trademark applications.
The examination process for Trump’s marks in China, and the Chinese trademark enforcement regime generally,
-Martha Engel, Attorney
Overshadowed by that yuuuge, shocking, {insert adjective for your feelings here} win was the legalization of recreational marijuana in three more states – California, Massachusetts and Nevada – in conflict with federal law. This comes at a time when there have been a number of successive decisions (here, here)
-Martha Engel, Attorney
Today’s offices treat acronyms like linguistic yoga (TOTALLY).
ICYMI, they’re popular also in texts, tweets, and other “thumb-talking” activities. LOL. SMH.
Legislators are having fun with them lately too, for example the Personal Rights in Names Can Endure Act (PRINCE Act), the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to
— Jessica Gutierrez Alm, Attorney
This presidential election cycle has been nothing if not entertaining. Mr. Trump has been a particular favorite among late night T.V. hosts.
In one particular 20-minute monologue, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver berated the Donald, and in doing so, brought to light a historical quirk of the Trump
A little nominative trademark fair use might have saved these little gems from going right back to Costco, as gently used merchandise, with opened and not so gently mangled packaging to boot:
Little did I know when grabbing this impulse item at Costco over the weekend (without my expert child companions) that — after anxiously
-Martha Engel, Attorney
The day has finally arrived – the beginning of 2016 presidential debate season! The best reality TV showdown around! Democrat or Republican, I don’t discriminate, political debates are probably the only fighting “sport” in a ring that I enjoy watching. Fox finalized its debate card for the first debate of the season
– Mark Prus, Principal, NameFlash
Donald Trump is the leader in the race for the Republican nomination for President. A CNN/ORD national survey (conducted after his comments about John McCain) puts Donald Trump ahead with the support of 18% of Republicans, Jeb Bush at 15% and Scott Walker at 10%.
Why is the Trump brand
A lot can be learned about personal branding from Winnie the Pooh & Friends:
Many years ago we had a family friend who believed she was able to simplify anyone she encountered into a character from Winnie the Pooh & Friends. He’s a real Tigger, so impulsive. She’s a Piglet, such a worry-wort. He’s so Rabbit, a regular self-proclaimed know-it-all. She is so curiously Roo! What a hard-working Gopher! She is as loyal a friend as Pooh. Could he be any more gloomy? Such an Eeyore! And on and on. By the way, as you may have guessed, she was a real Tigger, bouncy, impulsive, and more than a bit annoying, at times. Honestly, I don’t recall who she pegged me to be.
Anyway, I had totally forgotten these memories until I recently agreed to speak about Personal Branding and Trademarks at an Annual Paralegal Convention, where the overall convention theme was “Maximize Your Marketability,” and for some reason, they came rushing back to me.
Why? I suppose, because Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Roo, and Eeyore are not only copyrighted fictional characters, but they also are protectable trademarks (and at least Pooh, Tigger, and Roo are the subject of a pending trademark opposition proceeding between Disney and Stephen Slesinger, Inc.), and perhaps most importantly, they all represent personal branding caricatures too.
Now, I’m not one to believe in the existence of single-dimension people. Near as I can tell, most of us share multiple characteristics from multiple Pooh & Friends characters among many others. Having said that, for what its worth, my two cents on the subject of Personal Branding is that if you’re not careful, thoughtful, and intentional about building and cultivating a multi-dimensional personal brand, you run the risk of being unfairly reduced to a one-dimensional caricature with no reach or respect beyond your most dominant skill or personality trait.
In other words, if your sky is always falling with Piglet-style worries that never come true, it will be hard for anyone to take your concerns seriously, even when they are Christopher Robin legitimate. Perhaps Chicken Little is a distant Disney cousin and The Boy Who Cried Wolf a distant Aesop cousin of “a very small animal” named Piglet.Continue Reading Personal Branding and Trademarks: Avoiding One-Dimensional Caricatures
