Seeing Carlos Santana this weekend while watching the Super Bowl with friends reminded me about the recently filed copyright infringement suit against BuzzFeed. You might be thinking, “that was Chris Martin of Coldplay, not Carlos Santana, who played the Half Time show.” However, I am referring to Mr. Santana’s revamping of the theme song for
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
iPhone 6, Can You Say Nominative Fair Use?
We cover a lot of topics related to nominative fair use of trademarks, see here, here, and here for some of those discussions. Does the example below on product packaging from J. Crew qualify for fair use of the iPhone 6 mark?
The International Trademark Association would say so: “In general, the
David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust teaches us about branding.
– Randall Hull, The Br@nd Ranch®
On January 10, 2016, David Bowie “left the building” after an 18 month battle with cancer — a complete shock to many of us who were fans. We didn’t know David was ill. Yes, there were the rumors of his death triggered by his heart attacks, six of them
Printing Infringement: Are 3-D Printers the Next Napster?
— Jessica Gutierrez Alm, Attorney
Happy 2016! I hope everyone had a fun and festive New Year celebration.
As for me, I’ll be spending my three-day weekend tinkering with this:
Thanks to my thoughtful husband and the rapidly increasing availability and affordability of these products, I am the proud new owner of a 3-D printer.
Bright Bulbs Bring Bank Branding Battle
-Wes Anderson, Attorney
Just as the Minnesota Vikings exceed expectations this year and push into the NFL playoffs, the Vikings’ still-unfinished new stadium is producing some interesting (if not expected) branding-related litigation.
A major topic of conversation here in the Twin Cities is the 2016 opening of U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings’ new home built
Another Cliche Color Trademark Calamity?
Techdirt is crying foul (again) and this time, wrapping the “trademark bully” mantle around the magenta-colored neck of the T-Mobile brand for enforcing its color trademark against OXY.
While I certainly don’t have the details of the dispute (and it appears Techdirt doesn’t either), and OXY hasn’t produced the actual
Samsung Seeks an Edge in Smart Phone Wars through Federal Registration
For years, Samsung and Apple have battled over intellectual property rights associated with each party’s smart phones. Apple sued Samsung in 2011 and the jury found that Samsung had infringed Apple’s trade dress, design patents, and utility patents. On May 15, 2015, the Federal Circuit upheld the findings regarding infringement of design and utility patents,
Forget the 6s, is the iPhone 3d coming soon?
When the iPhone 6s was announced, the 3D touch was a heavily touted feature. The touch screen can now sense how hard you’re pushing. Functionally, it’s a great improvement that gives users new ways to interact with programs. But a new trademark application filed by Apple on August 18, 2015 suggests that this may not
“Oh, no: Beta!”
-Wes Anderson, Attorney
As we gather with family and friends to give thanks this holiday here in the U.S., let’s look back and think of those that won’t be with us at the Thanksgiving dinner table. For me, BETAMAX comes to mind.
What’s that, you say? BETAMAX, the video cassette format that unsuccessfully battled VHS