Well, it’s official, the 2017 Minnesota State Fair is almost in the books now, it came and went, without the longstanding Original Deep Fried Cheese Curds stand (notwithstanding a heroic #savethecurds campaign); it was instead replaced by Big Fat Bacon, shown above.
Love the prominent use of the TM on the signage, even if
Over the weekend, IPBiz reported that WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) has filed an application to register 3:16 as a trademark for clothing items.
A Google search confirms that 3:16 has religious significance as it is a common truncation that signifies one of the most widely quoted verses from the Bible, namely, John 3:16.
Despite
Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a significant opinion on the topic of genericness, Elliott v. Google, Inc., No. 15-15809. The opinion affirmed a federal district court’s grant of summary judgment that “GOOGLE” trademark registrations (Reg. Nos. 2884502, 2806075) are not subject to cancellation for genericness.
Genericness
We recently checked out a new restaurant in Minneapolis’ growing North Loop area, called Red Rabbit, what a great spot:
The menu cleverly refers to the salad options as “Rabbit Food” — and the Italian Chopped salad spoke to me, but one of the listed “ingredients” left me wondering “what’s a peppadew”?
Not
Seeing this Caribou Coffee skyway billboard was a good reminder to me of how much we hear about the importance of transparency in our relationships, including those with brands we love:
It appears that the prevalence of society’s use of the word “transparency” may be at an all time high, where the
-Wes Anderson, Attorney
It bears mentioning when one of the world’s most famous brands releases one of the world’s most prominent and readable privacy policies. That’s just what Apple did this week, and the message to other brands is clear – privacy policies can be a massive marketing opportunity, not just an obscure legal nuisance.
— Jessica Gutierrez Alm, Attorney
Google changed its logo this week, and the Internet is not happy about it. In the new design, the name appears in thicker, cleaner letters. Specifically, the new design eliminates serifs—the little tails at the bottom of each letter in many fonts, like Times New Roman.
— Jessica Gutierrez Alm, Attorney
Everyone has a brand. Through every interaction and impression we leave in the minds of others, each of us builds on our own personal brand. In the Internet age, and particularly with the advent of social media, our personal brands are more definable than ever. Googling anyone but the most
— Jessica Gutierrez Alm, Attorney
Last week, a press release announced that Ford would “Open[] [its] Portfolio of Patented Technologies to Competitors to Accelerate Industry-Wide Electrified Vehicle Development.” Media outlets were quick to report that Ford was joining Tesla in opening its patent portfolio, referencing Tesla’s widely publicized promise last year not to enforce its
— Jessica Gutierrez Alm, Attorney
Last week, Google announced its new “Patent Purchase Promotion.” Under this program, for a two-week period, companies and individuals will have an opportunity to offer their patents to Google for purchase for a price determined by the patent owners themselves. The program is set to run from