Two months after Alaska Airlines put $4 billion on the table and bought up Virgin America, the soon-to-be fifth largest airline operating in the U.S. is spilling the beans — kind of — about its future, and that might include keeping the recently purchased carrier’s name. [More]
what’s in a name?
Rhapsody Decides It’s A Great Idea To Rename Itself Napster
By 6.15.16
There’s a new player in the streaming music scene, and it’s name is Napster. No, you have not been suddenly transported to your college dorm room, where you spent hours upon hours gleefully downloading mp3 after mp3: though it’s not exactly a new venture, streaming music service Rhapsody has decided to rebrand itself Napster, a service it owns, because why not? [More]
Park City Residents Don’t Want Ski Resort To Trademark The Name “Park City”
By 6.10.16
When you have a business that’s in a popular tourist location, naming your establishment after the city is an obvious way to align yourself with that hotspot, thus, attracting said out-of-towners. That’s why one ski resort’s trademark application for the name “Park City” has the city’s other residents worried for the future of their businesses. [More]
Our Government Has Somehow Managed To Suggest An Even Worse Name For The Sharing Economy
By 6.7.16
If you want to bash your head against the closest rock whenever you hear that a new service wants to be the “Uber of [fill in the industry],” you are not alone. Both the industry and the general public have struggled to come up with names for the new model of sharing cars, homes, etc.: there’s the sharing economy, the gig economy, and now, the government has its own idea for a term that might be worse than all the rest. [More]
Altria Sues FDA To Keep “Black & Mild” Name
By 5.26.16
Earlier this month, the Food & Drug Administration expanded its oversight of tobacco products, effectively banning the use of “mild” to describe cigars. That’s a problem for Altria Group, which makes the Black & Mild brand, and so the tobacco behemoth has sued the federal government to keep using the name. [More]
Thinking Of Recharging Your AC Unit? Here’s What You Absolutely Need To Know About Replacement Refrigerants
By 5.24.16
Someday soon(ish), it’ll be warm again in most parts of the country, and you might be thinking of giving your home or car air-conditioning a bit of a boost to prepare for the summer heat. Whether you’re working with an HVAC technician or doing it yourself, it matters what you’re using to recharge that AC unit, and some refrigerants are better left unused. [More]
Court: Apple Has To Share The iPhone Name With Chinese Accessories Company
By 5.4.16
A Chinese company that peddles purses and wallets bearing the IPHONE name has the right to keep selling those products, despite Apple’s efforts to keep the trademark all for itself. [More]
Judge: Macy’s Still Has A “Protected Interest” In Trademarks Of Retired Stores Like Marshall Field’s
By 2.5.16
Macy’s doesn’t necessarily want to sell anyone T-shirts bearing the names of department stores it’s bought up over the years, including Marshall Fields’, Lazarus, and six others, but according to a judge’s recent ruling, no one else can legally peddle clothing with those retired brands on them, either. [More]
Court Ruling On Rock Band’s Name Could Bolster “Redskins” Trademark
By 12.23.15
In 2014, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceled the trademark for the NFL’s Washington Redskins, deeming the term offensive and therefore not eligible for trademark. In July 2015, a federal court sided with the USPTO and ordered the agency to cancel the team’s trademark. But a ruling this week by an appeals court in Washington, D.C., adds a new wrinkle to this complicated and controversial issue. [More]
Hampton Creek: FDA Grants Condiment Dispensation, Eggless “Just Mayo” Can Keep Its Name
By 12.17.15
An ongoing battle about the nature of mayonnaise that began in November 2014 seems to have finally reached a peaceful resolution: the Food and Drug Administration has decided to allow Just Mayo, sold by Hampton Creek, call itself “mayo,” even though the vegan, eggless product technically isn’t mayonnaise, according to the government’s definition. [More]
Fourth Largest Cigarette Maker Imperial Tobacco Drops “Tobacco” From Its Name
By 12.15.15
Imperial Tobacco Group, the fourth largest cigarette company in the world, is the latest company to distance itself from its bread and butter by dropping the “tobacco” part of its name. [More]
Macy’s Makes It Difficult For Me To Give Them Money Because My Last Name Is Slutsky
By 12.11.15
Meet Leonard Slutsky. He’s a Consumerist reader who had one desire: to give Macy’s money. But Macy’s wouldn’t accept his online order, simply because his last name is Slutsky. [More]
Regulators Take Action Against Online Lender For Deceiving Borrowers On Default Charges
By 11.18.15
When a company’s name has the word “integrity” in it, you may assume it’s a wholesome, truthful operation forthcoming with information that its customers would find beneficial. That apparently wasn’t the case with Integrity Advance, as federal regulators accused the short-term online lender of deceiving borrowers about the true cost of its loans. [More]
Sony’s Virtual Reality Headset Is Called…. PlayStation VR
By 9.16.15
After spending more than year referring to its virtual reality headset with the over-the-top working title Project Morpheus, Sony finally revealed the true identity of its immersive accessory, and it’s a bit of a letdown: PlayStation VR. [More]
Hermès Says It’s Talking With Jane Birkin About Crocodile Leather Used In Namesake HandBags
By 8.28.15
If you’ve got a product named after you, should you be able to control how that item is made? Actress Jane Birkin is certainly trying to have her say, telling the company to take her name off the luxury handbag named after her because they’re made from crocodiles who are inhumanely slaughtered. [More]
FDA Warns Company Behind “Just Mayo” That Its Product Isn’t Actually Mayonnaise
By 8.25.15
What difference does a food label make? A whole heck of a lot, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Which means if your product doesn’t abide by federal guidelines, it can’t masquerade as something it’s not. As such, the FDA is warning the makers of “Just Mayo,” a vegan-friendly spread, that it can’t call itself mayo because mayonnaise contains eggs, which its product does not. [More]
News Flash: Table Salt Is Also Sea Salt
By 8.17.15
If you’ve been wrinkling your nose at ho-hum salt shakers containing everyday table salt in favor of so-called sea salt, it’s time to get real with yourself: all the salt we use on food is sea salt. [More]
Pornhub Censors Commercial Likening Video Service To Parmagiano-Reggiano After Cheese Group Complains
By 8.13.15
Although dairy lovers might compare a beautifully shaped, delicious, hard cheese to food porn, an Italian cheese group says an ad that likened a streaming porn service to its famed Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese is basically blasphemy. [More]
