When can a brand owner lawfully use a competitor’s trademark on the brand owner’s product?
Over the years, we’ve lifted away a lot of dust on the hairy subjects of classic trademark fair use, nominative fair use, and comparative advertising, especially in the context of billboard ads.
It isn’t every day
Over the years, we’ve written much about trademark bullying. When the mantle fits, and when it doesn’t. When a brand has a realistic view of its rights, and when the claimed scope is bloated.
We’ve never before written about “Ruby Tuesday,” neither the Rolling Stones’ song nor the struggling restaurant chain
North Memorial is pressing up its commitment to using the Google mark on outdoor billboards:
I have the same questions from last month for its digital campaign in the Minneapolis skyway.
And one more: Will this increased visibility result in an emergency, calling for a Juris Doctor?
On the heels of discussing trademark genericide through the Anything is Popsicle prism yesterday, let us turn our attention back to Velcro, who is at it again, this time making a genericide sequel.
The sequel is called “Thank You for Your Feedback — Don’t Say Velcro.” Like any sequel I’ve ever seen, I’m not
Welcome to another edition of Genericide Watch, where we consider brands on the edge, working hard to maintain brand status and exclusive rights, while trying to avoid trademark genericide.
The primary meaning to the relevant public decides genericness, so trademark owners will try to influence how consumers understand the word, to maintain at
It’s a wonderful life, collaborating with brand owners and marketing teams to advance their goals.
Our work for brand owners also involves a collaboration of sorts with the U.S. Trademark Office.
We work with the USPTO to obtain registrations for our clients and this triggers USPTO obligations.
As such, when examining applications, the USPTO must
There is at least one more 2018 Rapala billboard out there, just netted this one over the weekend:
Rapala’s clever Minnowsotan billboard inspired me to cast a few lines about the law concerning trademark disclaimers, as they often reel in some great questions from branding professionals.
Trademarks consisting of or comprising “scandalous or immoral” matter still won’t be granted federal registration “in the name of the United States of America,” at least for the time being.
Immediately on the heels of the International Trademark Association’s 140th Annual Meeting in Seattle, and our well-received panel discussion concerning Trademarks and
Another fast food restaurant is coming to the City Center in downtown Minneapolis. It’s called Los Ocampo (meaning “the field“), and it’s apparently adopting this eye-catching trade dress:
That color scheme and the large, prominent non-verbal chili pepper left me wondering whether there is some sort of corporate connection with the Chili’s
It was another star-studded event in Seattle last night, enjoy some pics from Meet the Bloggers:
The Ironmongers are Reunited:
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