As Converse’s Chuck Taylor sneakers have become as ubiquitous smartphones these days — heck, even your grandma might own a pair — parent company Nike has been trying block other retailers from cashing in on that popularity and selling copycat sneakers. The company just won one trademark battle over Chuck Taylor’s sole design, but is promising to keep fighting after an industry group said other aspects of the shoe’s style aren’t covered by the same protection. [More]
trademarks
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]
Citi Is Suing AT&T Over The Word “Thanks”
By 6.10.16
Last week, AT&T launched a new loyalty program dubbed AT&T Thanks, offering rewards to customers, especially those who bundle together wireless and pay-TV services from the company. This morning, Citi fired back at the Death Star, alleging that AT&T is stomping all over Citi’s “ThankYou” trademark. [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]
Washington Redskins Also Petition Supreme Court To Hear Trademark Appeal
By 4.26.16
Last week, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office petitioned the Supreme Court to chime in on a case involving the trademark application for a rock band with a racially charged name. Any SCOTUS ruling in that case would have an impact on the similar ongoing dispute over the trademark for the NFL’s Washington Redskins, but rather than hope for a favorable result with that petition, the football team has filed one of its own. [More]
Trademark Office Takes Dispute Over “Scandalous” Trademarks To Supreme Court
By 4.25.16
While the law prohibits the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from registering “immoral, deceptive, or scandalous” or disparaging trademarks, a federal appeals court recently ruled that this law is too restrictive and unconstitutional. Now the USPTO is asking the nation’s highest court to chime in on an issue that could impact countless rejected or cancelled trademarks, including that of the Washington Redskins. [More]
Great Harvest Bread Suing Panera Over Trademarked Slogan
By 3.10.16
Back in 2014, Great Harvest Bread Company trademarked what it thought was a neat slogan: “Bread. The Way it Ought to Be.” So when fellow baked goods peddler Panera Bread introduced its slogan, “Food as it should be” in 2015, that hit a little too close to home for Great Harvest. [More]
Man Who Resurrected Hydrox Can Now Bring Jordan Marsh, Bullock’s, May Company Brands Back To Life
By 2.26.16
Two years ago we profiled Ellia Kassoff, the mad genius who seems intent on bringing back every brand that you ever said “remember when…” about. He has already resurrected Hydrox, the original sandwich cookie, but he’s also been battling Macy’s for several years over a slew of trademarks for stores Macy’s acquired and shut down. Today, Kassoff says he’s reached a deal with the department store giant that will allow him to try to breathe new life into several long-dead retail brands. [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]
Nestle Loses High Court Bid To Trademark KitKat Shape In The UK
By 1.20.16
If you happen to hop across the pond and are looking for a chocolate treat, you might see the familiar shape of a KitKat bar — but it might not actually be a KitKat, after the high court in the United Kingdom put the kibosh on Nestle’s attempt to trademark the four-finger shape of the KitKat bar. [More]
Sorry, Person Named Chanel, You Can’t Use Your First Name As An Instagram Handle
By 1.6.16
When you’re an early adopter of a website, that means you have your pick of usernames. A young lady in Canada registered for Instagram early on, before Facebook acquired the company. Her username was her real first name: Chanel. Eventually, brands began to use the service, and that’s when the fashion house of the same name found that someone had already registered @chanel. Now no one is using that ID. Why? [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]
Supreme Court: Yes, You Need Permission To Sell T-Shirts Featuring Bob Marley’s Face
By 11.2.15
When it comes to famous faces, not just anyone can cash in and use those well-known likenesses for their own financial gain. That’s why the highest court in the land has turned down an appeal from clothing companies that wanted to peddle T-shirts bearing the image of reggae legend Bob Marley. [More]
Pinterest Doesn’t Own Exclusive On “Pinning” Things Online
By 10.23.15
Ages before there was an Internet, and certainly long before Pinterest ever came onto the scene, folks were pinning things — to bulletin boards, to computer dashboards and docks. But the folks at Pinterest believe they have an exclusive trademark of the online use of phrases like “pin it.” Unfortunately for them, a federal judge disagrees. [More]
Lindt Beats Haribo In Legal Battle Over Candy Bears
By 9.23.15
It might seem pretty obvious that chocolate candy shaped like a bear is quite different from a gummy candy bear, but now it’s official: a judge in German ruled that Lindt’s foil-wrapped, bear-shaped chocolate treats aren’t copying rival candy purveyor Haribo’s gummy bear mascot. [More]
Federal Court Rules: Chicken Sandwich Not Protected By Copyright
By 8.25.15
You may recall that we recently tested various burger recipes sent in by readers. What if I took one of those recipes, slapped the name “Morranwich” on it and made it the basis of a billion-dollar burger empire? While the reader whose recipe I used for the sandwich might be really upset, they couldn’t make a copyright claim against Morranwich Worldwide (a division of Cyber Dynamics Systems Corporation) because, as precious as a sandwich recipe might be, it’s not copyrightable. [More]
Burger King Tried To Block Trademark Application For 1,200-Year-Old Gospel Manuscript
By 8.11.15
While Burger King might be technically older than McDonald’s Corp., it’s certainly not older than the Book of Kells, a 9th Century illuminated manuscript of the New Testament Gospels. But when Trinity College Dublin tried to trademark the Book of Kells name and related “BK merchandise,” Burger King’s legal eagles objected, claiming it would infringe on the fast-food giant’s marks. [More]
Company Behind Fruit Stripe Gum Suing E-Cig Company Over Vape Flavor
By 7.13.15
If you’re the kind of person who favors fruity flavors in your e-cigarette, hey, that’s your choice. But Ferrara Candy doesn’t to be tied to any flavor of vape liquid, and is suing an online e-cig company claiming it infringed on its trademark for Fruit Stripe gum with one of its offerings. [More]
