Since November 30, 2021, we’ve anxiously been waiting for the Federal Circuit to decide the Chutter appeal and determine whether the TTAB was correct in lowering the standard for proving trademark fraud from the far more difficult specific intent to deceive the U.S. Trademark Office standard under Bose, to the much easier to
Trademarks
Two Decades of The IP Book
Time certainly flies while you’re having fun, and for me, the past two decades of serving as an editor and author for The IP Book and also as a planner for the Midwest IP Institute is no exception:
In the 2022 IP Book you’ll find a lot of terrific content, including Tiffany and Molly‘s…
Prince’s Purple Reign Lives On
When you hear “PURPLE RAIN,” what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?
An iconic album …
A genre-defining film …
The late musical genius from Minnesota…
In a precedential decision, NPG Records, LLC and Paisley Park Enterprises, LLC v. JHO Intellectual Property Holdings LLC, 2022 USPQ2d 770 (TTAB 2022) (link)…
Short and Sweet Wisdom from Seth
Over the weekend, Seth Godin shared some wisdom that resonated, In or out:
Often overlooked is how uncomfortable it is to sit on a fence.
Get in or get out. Wasting time sitting on the fence wastes far more time and emotion than you’d expend committing to something.
I’d add to that sentiment, when…
The New Washington Football Name is “Commanding” Some New Attention
The really big news that commanded attention was back in July 2020, when the NFL franchise near Washington, D.C. announced it would be “retiring the R*dskins name and logo.” You may recall this gem: NEVER Means Forever, Until it Doesn’t.
Honestly, after two seasons of the team using the generic Washington Football…
Rapala Continues Fishing for Attention
Over the past dozen years, we’ve been admiring Rapala’s annual creative billboard campaign that continues to maintain the same eye-catching look and feel.
Love the white canvas, the red stylized Rapala brand name, the Original Floating lure, and a creative and often humorous attention-getting term or phrase in black ink, sandwiched in between (and hooked…
Some Thankful Reflections About 2020
Hotels, Ice Cream, and Shoes as Canvases for Great Brands
Hotels, Ice Cream, and Shoes as Canvases for Great Brands
Seth Godin has written about how Nike is a great brand because we can imagine what a Nike hotel would look like.
So, let me ask a slightly weirder question: If Nike were an ice cream flavor, what would it taste like?…
2020 Midwest IP Institute in the Books
Hearty thanks to Colette Durst, Stephen Lee, and Susan Perera, for generously sharing their insights and perspectives about trademark nominative fair use.
By all accounts, the Midwest IP Institute was a great success this year despite the limitations of delivering knowledge in a virtual format, thanks Zoom.
Hearty thanks to Draeke…
Welcome Back to TM Incapability and Merely Informational USPTO Refusals
Welcome back to another edition of Merely Informational and Incapable Marks.
The above neighborhood Applebee’s is on my usual route to going anywhere from our home, so I’m predicting I’ve passed by well more than 10,000 times.
The temporary “Dining Room Open” signage is a recent addition from a few months ago, when Minnesota…