Trade dress is the protectable dress, design, packaging, or look-and-feel of a product or service. Because trademark rights are all about use and signaling in the consumer’s mind the source of the product, nearly anything that functions as such a…
Ok, I am guilty of it. Last week, I complained that everyone and their mother was sticking “i” in front of a word and calling it a brand, but darn’d if I can’t help but do it too – and…
I’ve written before about invention promotion scams, and when my clients file trademark applications, I always warn them about receiving official-looking documents requesting payments for various kinds of trademark registration and monitoring services. However, to this point, the scams I…
I don’t want to see any more i-whatever names. I am continually amazed at the number of companies, stores, and products that get branded with a leading “i.” Apple was creative when it developed the iMac. It carried that…
US trademark applications and registrations can be used to obtain trademark protection in other countries. Similarly, foreign trademark applications and registrations can be the basis for a trademark application filed in the US. As a member to a number of…
A few weeks ago, I argued that the term “trademark bully” should be carefully applied and not overused. The tendency is to inflate every act of trademark patrolling as bullying. Of course, the term didn’t arise without reason – there…
Yes, the event you have been waiting for is fast approaching. The 2011 National Trademark Expo will be held on Friday, October 14th and Saturday, October 15th. The expo is designed to educate the public about trademarks, their value and…
The term “trademark bully” is a hot one these days, showing up in blogs and getting its own Chilling Effects-esque website. Perhaps its use parallels the media’s coverage of what seems to be increasingly more child-bullying examples. A trademark bully…
After a few weeks of respite, patent infringement lawsuits pick up in Arizona. Two complaints were filed recently. The first complaint was filed by Foxwise Products, LLC, an Arizona company manufacturing horse-related products. The company alleged that a number of…
I prepare myself to be a skeptic every April 1st, but I always fall victim to at least one prank. This morning I received an email from Avvo, a site that lists and rates lawyers. I get emails from them…