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Non-Traditional Trademarks Revisited: Feel Me, Touch Me
Tommy has a lot to offer in advancing the recognition of certain kinds of non-traditional trademarks, especially touch marks. Yes, The Who’s tune from the Tommy Soundtrack "See Me, Feel Me / Listening...
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Exponential Growth in the New World of Social Media
This post is not about candy bars or thoughts about whether the cross-section of a candy bar may function as a trademark, for that, see here. This brief post is about a 100 Grand Super Size thank you...
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Brand Signals: The Building Blocks of Brand Identity
Brands communicate with the world through a series of message delivery systems such as broadcast advertising, web sites, company representatives and product interaction. These systems utilize brand...
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Look for Reese’s “Perfect Mix”
–Dan Kelly, Attorney Earlier this week, Jason Voiovich commented on The Great Chocolate War between Hershey and Mars. We obviously have chocolate on the brain here this week. The company that brought...
View ArticleA Dickensian Portrait of Christmas Day
–Dan Kelly, Attorney I’ve often thought that copy writers could do worse than to make a close study of some of Charles Dickens’ work. Perhaps too wordy a model for most copy, especially advertising...
View ArticleWebinar on Non-Traditional Trademarks, Sound, Color, Shape, Scent & More
I’m happy to share with you that on Tuesday February 8, 2011, I’m speaking about one of my favorite topics, non-traditional trademarks, with my friends Linda McLeod of Finnegan Henderson and Stephen...
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Taste Infringement?
We’ve spent some time here discussing the world-famous Coca-Cola brand. Most recently, David Mitchell wrote about the incredible consistency of the Coca-Cola brand over the past 125 years. A while...
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Baird on Branding & Trademarks
There aren’t too many things I enjoy more than speaking about the legal implications of branding. Our friends at BlackCoffee captured a talk I gave to a group of marketing types a while back, on black...
View ArticleYes, you can still wipe your Pierrade with Sopalin without risking trademark...
- Marie-Gwénaëlle Chuit As Steve frequently points out on this blog, trying to turn your trademark into a reference might lead to genericide, thus trademark owners should be very careful when walking...
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7G Wireless: The Next Big Thing?
- Brent Carlson-Lee In the past six months, I have applied for a design patent and two trademarks – all food related. When I mention this, a common response is: “I wish I were creative or knowledgeable...
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Taste the Rainbow
- Brent Carlson-Lee When you hear the phrase “taste the rainbow,” you’ll likely think of Skittles as it is the tagline for the candy’s long-running campaign (since 1994). The Creative Criminals...
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ABSINTHE MAKERS ARE NOT TOASTING IN SWITZERLAND
Although once illegal in the United States, absinthe can now be consumed in your local bars. It was a favorite drink of writers and artists such as Ernest Hemmingway, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde and...
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When is a Flavor/Taste Trademark Possible?
Are your intellectual taste buds craving more discussion of non-traditional trademarks? It’s not every day we have the opportunity to write about a restaurant’s claimed trademark protection for the...
View ArticleTrademark a feeling.
–Aaron Keller, Managing Principal, Capsule How fast are you getting at typing with your thumbs? My high school typing instructor would be so proud of my advancements. I’d say 60 words a minute if I am...
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Tastes Like Chicken, Not a Copyright
A common refrain: “There must be a way to protect this idea, either by trademark or copyright.” Regrettably, in many instances, the answer is “none of the above.” Take, for example, the humble chicken...
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Imitating MILANO Cookies? Pepperidge Farm Remembers.
When a company puts “DISTINCTIVE” on its own packaging, its usually a sign that it highly values its trade dress and product configuration rights. That’s certainly the case for Pepperidge Farm and its...
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Fictitious Versus Fake Branding
– Mark Prus, Principal, NameFlash Creating fictitious names for products is standard practice in many industries. Creating a brand that evokes a certain image or feeling is so commonplace that most of...
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For Trademark Demand Letters, Every Letter Counts
It has not been a great week for oatmeal. The Quaker Oats Company (a subsidiary of food and beverage giant PepsiCo), on the heels of a recall for its Quaker Quinoa Granola Bars, has also made a rather...
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A Faster, Sleeker Milk Jug
Another for the file of newly-registered product configuration marks: acquired distinctiveness, sold by the gallon. According to 2014 numbers released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans...
View ArticleFour T’s at Four: What Breweries Need to Know About Their IP Before They...
“Forties at 4” was a time-honored Friday tradition among my engineering classmates in college. After our last class, several of them would purchase Miller (if we could find it in a 40 oz) or Old...
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