Last week, we saw the latest installment in the “trademark bullying” saga. But this time was different. Instead of lawyers fighting amongst themselves, DuetsBlog brought out the big gun: Seth Godin. You can read the entire piece here. I like Seth Godin, and so do lots of other people (hence, the
Trademark Bullying
McDonald’s Big, Super, Good-for-nothing European Trademark Mess
From time to time, I post squirrelly thoughts. Today, I wonder: Should a large company with famous, distinct trademarks sometimes hold back from aggressively enforcing those trademarks, even when doing so might at first appear to be a useful competitive strategy? I’m sure many executives at McDonald’s–the worldwide fast-food chain that it is so ubiquitous …
Seth Godin Answers 12 DuetsBlog Questions
It all started here, nearly ten years ago now, with our inaugural DuetsBlog post called Dr. No and the Parade of Horribles. We used a Seth Godin post called Looking for Yes as our launchpad.
The rest is history. Seth revealed himself a fan of the blog on our 4th birthday, what a surprise. He generously has engaged with us since then, weighing in on topics ranging from branding to trademark bullying to Velcro’s fear of trademark genericide, with so much more in between.
Recently, Seth generously agreed to answer the 12 questions below. What should we ask next?Continue Reading Seth Godin Answers 12 DuetsBlog Questions
Poke Restaurant’s Trademark Enforcement Sparks Protests
— Jessica Gutierrez Alm, Attorney
Trademark enforcement, particularly in an age of social media and internet shaming, is tricky business. Some brands (I’m looking at you, Louis Vuitton) seem to have enough market share to ignore the social backlash from their heavy-handed demand letters. But companies that lack that kind of brand power…
Brands, Who Could Hang a Name on You?
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…
Torchy’s “Damn Good” Trademark Bullying…Or Not?
A few weeks ago, a Mexican restaurant in Fort Collins, Colorado, named “Dam Good Tacos,” agreed to change its name based on a settlement in a trademark dispute with another Mexican restaurant, Torchy’s Tacos.
Torchy’s Tacos owns a federal trademark registration for the mark “DAMN GOOD TACOS” (Reg. No. 4835497) for restaurant services. After…
An Update from Mars: “CocoVaa” Dispute Resolved
Earlier this year, I posted about a dispute between candy company Mars Inc. and a small business based in Wisconsin, selling handmade fine chocolates under the mark CocoVaa.
In March, Mars Inc. filed a federal trademark infringement complaint in the Eastern District of Virginia, asserting that its registered CocoaVia® mark (Reg. No. 4179465), for…
Mars – Helping You Work, Rest & Play (and improve blood circulation?)
While browsing my daily trademark news and digesting some recent chocolate-related trademark litigation, to be discussed below, I happened upon some interesting discussions and histories of slogans for candy, including in particular, the MARS® chocolate bar.
Back in 1960, Mars Inc. debuted its slogan for the MARS® chocolate bar: “A Mars a Day, Helps You…
Stripe Three, Adidas Called a Trademark Bully
Trademark bullying allegations are in the news again.
Not only is Forever 21 calling Adidas a trademark bully for asserting rights in the three stripe design mark, it is asking a federal court to say it has not done anything wrong and award it fees:
“Tired of operating with a cloud over its head
…
Sonic v. Supersonic Coffee v. AKA Coffee: Bullied to a better brand?
A specialty coffee roastery in San Francisco, Supersonic Coffee, has decided to rebrand to the name AKA Coffee, as reported yesterday. The impetus for the rebrand was an opposition at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) by the national fast-food chain Sonic, against Supersonic Coffee’s trademark application for the word mark SUPERSONIC. …