We’ve written a lot about single color trademarks here over the years. Weems, the owner of the Flexilla brand has unleashed its federally-registered chartreuse-colored non-traditional trademark for “compressed air hoses” against Plews for selling air hoses with a “bright florescent green color” — a color that Plews claims online “reduces chances of tripping
Just Wait Until the USPTO Lays Its Hands on These Single and Dual Color TM Applications
Back in 2009, we wrote about what was then Kimberly Clark’s pair of
Lawsuit Involving IP Protection for a Lamp
Last week a federal lawsuit was filed in Minnesota by Blu Dot to protect alleged intellectual property rights in the floor lamp shown on the left below. The accused “strikingly and confusingly similar” floor lamp shown on the right below is sold by Canadian Rove Concepts:
So, what type of intellectual property do you
Timber! Will the Little Trees Car Freshener Configuration Trademark be Chopped Down?
We wrote about the above trademark warning ad a few years back, and the claimed trademark owner likely recognizing vulnerability as to validity:
“The idea generally is, let’s show and create a record that we are educating the public about our trademark rights and hopefully deterring misuses that otherwise might find their way
Negative Look-For Advertising Statements
Loyal readers know how important look-for advertising can be in making the difference between establishing trademark ownership in the shape or configuration of a product, and being left with nothing but a goose egg (as opposed to a Big Green Egg). That’s not to say, the clunky words “look-for” are required, yet something equivalent
Self-Inflicted Cuts That Can Kill a Trademark?
We have some razor sharp readers and guest bloggers. We’re deeply thankful and especially grateful when our readers and guest bloggers send us real life illustrations of marketing pitfalls we’ve identified, sliced and diced here on DuetsBlog. They provide more great teaching tools.
Hat tip to our own James Mahoney of Razor’s Edge Communications for
Tissue Tussles at the Trademark Office
Each of the seasons has its own soundtrack to signal its transition. Spring is symbolized by the chirping of robins and sparrows. The sound of the grill and the splashing in the pool announces the arrival of Summer. Unfortunately for Winter, it got the short end of the stick. Nothing says Winter is on its
Ads Touting Function Shoot Down Trademark
This isn’t the first time we’ve written about brand owners who shoot themselves in the foot with their advertising. And, I’m sure it won’t be the last.
As we’ve discussed before, touting the function of a product design feature can kill any hope of owning non-traditional trademark protection in that feature.
The latest example from
Sony’s “Lens-Style Camera” Trademark: Shuttered by the PTO?
-Wes Anderson, Attorney
Here’s another fascinating pending application for the file of non-traditional product configuration marks — this time, an application from Sony for the configuration of an all-in-one lens/camera:
The drawing may look like an ordinary camera lens – cylindrical, familiar, and generally seen affixed to a fancy DSLR. But the application identifies “Digital
Losing Marbles With Packaging Trademarks
Welcome to yet another edition of non-traditional trademarks, but instead of discussing brown paper bags for chips as trademarks, today we’re focusing on a U.S. trademark registration that surprisingly issued just a few weeks ago — a net bag package design for holding toy marbles:
As shown above, the claimed mark “consists of