Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. (LexBlog United States)
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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 you’re...
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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 Team name, I...
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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...
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Some Thankful Reflections About 2020
We can all think of and relive a multitude of reasons over the past year to embrace Dean’s timely #Flush2020 billboard ad as we prepare to ring in the New Year. We also can look for silver linings before we bid farewell to 2020, some glimmers of hope and thankful reflections to provide fuel for...
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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? ...
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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 Weseman for his great...
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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 restaurants...
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Stone/MillerCoors Battle Update #2: Summary Judgment
Back in 2018 (seems like a decade ago during these unusual times), I posted a couple times about a trademark infringement complaint by Stone Brewing, a craft brewery in California, against MillerCoors. The complaint alleged that the rebranded cans and packaging of the Keystone beer, which added separate emphasis of the word “STONE,” infringed Stone Brewing’s registered rights...
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NEVER Means Forever, Until it Doesn’t
Never is supposed to last forever. Forever is never supposed to come to an end. Neither are possible to measure in time, for as long as they continue to be true. The wait for either to fail, can last for an infinite period of time, until they collide. We have witnessed such a collision during...
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Rapala Billboard Ad Collection for 2020
Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chuck Norris, and a Walleye Sandwich have what in common? Well, each of the three are called to mind in Rapala’s 2020 billboard ad campaign. If you’ve been with us since the beginning, more than eleven years ago now, you’ll appreciate that we look forward to seeing Rapala’s creativity each year. And, by...
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Consumer Recollection and Car Logos
Here’s a question for our design-minded readers: If survey evidence told you that consumers recalled only certain elements of a beloved logo, would you remove the rest, and reduce it to only the most commonly remembered features? Most likely, your answer doesn’t involve analysis under trademark law. So, maybe, this post will influence...
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Pursuit in Series or Parallel?
Almost forty years ago, that question prompted me to rethink my engineering path after three semesters, knowing an electronic circuits lab awaited my fourth. Over winter break, thumbing through the University of Iowa catalog in my dad’s office, looking for an alternative, I happily discovered the pharmacy curriculum. Had I known that law school would...
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Introducing the (Wuhan) Gong Show?
The Gong Show was a quirky and absurdly amusing talent show from the 70s. It was created, produced, and hosted for a number of years by Chuck Barris. The gong was beaten by one or more judges when they’d had enough of an act. In reviewing some video of early episodes, shockingly there was no...
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Trademark Confusion on Orchid Lane
Upon seeing/hearing Orchid, how many will commit Orchard to memory instead? Based on my experience, in residing on Orchid Lane more than a quarter-century, I’d venture to say, far more than you might believe — a real appreciable number. Just this past weekend, during the age of “social distancing” guidance, someone having our address to...
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Brandless? Branded? Which is Better?
— Mark Prus, Principal Nameflash About two and a half years ago, Brandless was launched. The company sold “unbranded” household, personal care, baby, and pet products on the cheap and was viewed as a breakthrough in the “anti-branding” movement. Today, Brandless is dead. Brandless failed to demonstrate proper value to consumers of their products. This...
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Just Add a . . . Suggestive Trademark?
Shelter in place has delivered attention to meal delivery, prepared food delivery, contactless delivery, not to mention DIY food products, so this Kraft television commercial led me to explore if there may be a trademark story in this brand: Upon first seeing the ad for Kraft’s Just Crack an EGG breakfast bowls, I was left wondering...
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Back to Blogging and Trademark Battle Updates
Hello DuetsBlog readers! As Steve recently said, we continue to be thankful that you’ve stuck with us, including during our pause and transition to our new firm. I’m so excited to be part of the amazing team of people at Greenberg Traurig, and to continue reaching new heights in our trademark practice. Although our blogging...
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Nominative Fair Use of Another’s Logo
The speaking circuit has come to a grinding halt, as it should, to slow the virus spread. My hope is to share some of that in-person content with each of you here. Now more than ever, we need to receive nourishment, so if you don’t receive Seth Godin’s daily posts, you’re really missing out, he’s...
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Hot Pockets, Strategy and the Right-Sizing of Trademark Protection?
We’ve covered many trademark and brand management themes over the last eleven years, this falls in the category: The Right-Sizing of Trademark Protection? As reports emerge about the recent Coronavirus fear driving people to clear store shelves to stock their home pantries and freezers, a Hot Pockets TV ad hit me. Clearly consumer packaged goods and non-perishable...
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“Then it popped,” Louboutin’s Contrasting Red Sole Trademark
A week ago, over at The Fashion Law, an Independent Source for Law, Business and Culture, an enjoyable trip down memory lane was published about the history of trademark protection regarding Louboutin’s red-colored sole mark. What I hadn’t seen before now is Christian Louboutin’s quote “then it popped”: “The concept shoe, with its stacked heel...
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Brand Verbing Rolling Out of Control?
Since the origin of trademark use guidelines, there has been immutable, black and white legal direction against using brand names (and the trademarks that protect them), as nouns or verbs. If you’ve seen more flexible rules, please share. Yet, marketers have recognized the power verbs have over nouns and adjectives. Highlighting the legal need for flexibility and creativity in support of...
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Is it Curtains for Corona?
“It’s curtains” clearly means “the end” or “an adverse ending to something.” So, the more ambiguous portion of my opening question is, which Corona? The present news cycle would have us believe there are two: a virus and a beer. Both the beer and virus names come from the Latin translation to “crown.” Last week...
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Backpacks, Boycotts, Brand Bullying, Backlash, and Backcountry.com
A belated thanks to Candice Kim and Professor Leah Chan Grinvald for sharing their insights and perspectives in our recent webinar on trademark bullying. One topic we discussed is Backcountry.com’s recent back-down to backlash over its trademark enforcement activities concerning the Backcountry mark. The example is a harsh reminder to trademark counsel of the worst...
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Rorschach ≠ Likelihood of Confusion
One of the problems with “trademark bullying” can be a failure to comprehend the legal standard governing most trademark disputes: Likelihood of confusion. Another is a failure to appreciate the subjective nature of whether the legal line has been crossed or whether there has been an attempted trademark overreach. Understanding that trademark rights are dynamic (not static, meaning they can grow...
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Rent Me: A Non-Trademark Command
Some commands support trademark ownership (Just Do It), and others don’t. As you know, I’m not a fan of the USPTO’s trend toward informational refusals, especially when the “evidence” more supports a mere descriptiveness refusal. Having said that, this RENT ME informational command screams incapable: Rent Me caught my eye, because bigger words don’t always make it a trademark:...
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Thin to Lose?
One of my friends, when playing blackjack and asked to “cut the deck” after it has been shuffled, consistently admonishes without hesitation: “Thin to win.” Given the trademark story for today, you may end up believing the opposite. A 6-year trademark fight between Frito-Lay and Real Foods ended this month. Frito-Lay opposed Real Foods’ applications...
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Why Not Put a Bow on Genericness?
‘Tis the season for gratitude and thankfulness, and avoiding conflict and fruitcake. From a trademark perspective, every season is for avoiding genericness, right? After all, generic designations are part of the public domain, they aren’t own-able. So, why is Guaranteed Rate continuing to invest in Rate.com, found to be generic? Perhaps because, for an online...
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Will Religious Matter Be The Next Constitutional Challenge to Trademark Registration Denials by the USPTO?
When thinking about brands comprising religious matter, I think of EZEKIEL 4:9. The EZEKIEL 4:9 brand has been registered as a trademark for bread since 1990. The brand owner had to clear some chaff from the Principal Register to do so, threshing this EZEKIEL as abandoned, and gaining this EZEKIEL by assignment. It presently owns...
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Put a Sock in Informational Refusals?
Now that we’re back in the blogging business, I’m anxious to be able to harvest some visual trademark stories captured on my iPhone over the past 7 months: Are you surprised to see the federal registration symbol marking World’s Softest? After all, the phrase seems to communicate important information about the socks in question, as...
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Striving for Continuous Thanksgiving
It’s been a while . . . about seven months now. As you’ll see, a few things have happened since April, when we last left you with these gems on the topic of trademark bullying: Stop Bullying the Entrepreneurs, What does Entrepreneur Mean, Anyway?, and Public Shaming is Not the Solution to Trademark Bullying. Let’s Build One. We’re thankful...