If you don’t mind the wait, a crowded parking lot is often a good strategy when hunting for an excellent restaurant while you’re in unfamiliar territory. Similarly, a large crowd lining up outside a retail store is typically a good sign that the business is doing something right, or perhaps, they just happen to have something rare that everyone wants.
Waking Up to Brand Extensions & Due Diligence
It appears that energy drink brands have found another way to expand or extend their reach while still getting their active ingredients into the bloodstreams of consumers. This past weekend I encountered the Amp brand, not only in the refrigerated cases of convenience stores, but also at the grocery store check-out register, side by side with other traditional chewing gum brands. Some other blogs have
A Trademark Touch: Owning and Protecting Touchmarks
The October/November issue of Brand Packaging magazine just hit the streets and I’m deeply honored to say that my piece entitled "A Trademark Touch: Strategies for Owning and Protecting Touchmarks" is this issue’s "cover story" (minus the skull and crossbones).
The digital version can be read here. I hope you find it
Simply a Miscellaneous Design?
In case you’re wondering, this design is a federally-registered non-verbal trademark.
The owner identified it as a "Miscellaneous Design," without further detail or description (since it predated the more rigorous rules on supplying the Trademark Office with an accurate and detailed description of the mark).
The U.S. Trademark Office assigned to this design mark Design Code 24.15.25 ("other arrows") and in some cases 26.17.09 ("bands, curved; bars, curved; curved lines, bands or bars; lines, curved.").
So, now that you’re armed with all this valuable information, certainly you can answer three simple questions: (1) Who owns it? (2) What is it? and (3) What goods or services are identified and distinguished by this non-verbal design mark?Continue Reading Simply a Miscellaneous Design?
Look Before You Leap! The Dangers of Not Clearing Brands Before First Use
During tough economic times, we all look for places to cut costs. For anyone wondering whether it is wise to cut corners on due diligence when launching a new brand or product name, consider the consequences by reading a short piece I wrote for Create Magazine a couple of years ago, here. Nothing has