It’s been more than a year since a dispute between singer Chubby Checker and Hewlitt-Packard over a penis-measuring app plunged this country into darkness, dividing households, pitting brother against brother, leaving deep scars from which we may never heal — but which will always stand as a reminder of an era we’d all like to forget. Finally, the two parties have put aside their differences for the sake of generations to come, and reached a settlement. [More]
trademarks
NJ Turnpike Authority Sues Florida Pizza Chain Over Lookalike Logo
By 7.24.14
We don’t know why any restaurant owners would want to associate their food with a stretch of ugly highway that cuts a massive concrete and asphalt path from one end of New Jersey to the other, but that’s what the operators of a small pizza chain in Florida did when crafting a logo that looks a lot like the one for the Garden State Parkway. Fearing that people might somehow think it’s gotten into the pizza business, the NJ Turnpike Authority has sued the pizza chain in federal court. [More]
15 Product Trademarks That Have Become Victims Of Genericization
By 7.19.14 — Updated: 5.16.17
Sometimes, we hurt the ones we love. Which is why even if we didn’t mean to be so harsh, many products we use every day have become the victims of trademark genericization, meaning they’ve morphed from a single product identified under a name to an entire product category. And when courts get involved it becomes “genericide,” which sounds even more murderous. Can’t you just imagine Law & Order: Genericized Trademarks? [dun dun] [More]
Delta Wants To Trademark “World’s Most Trusted Airline,” But Probably Shouldn’t
By 6.23.14
Do you trust Delta Air Lines? It won’t really matter if the carrier succeeds in convincing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to approve Delta’s application for a trademark on that term. [More]
Patent Office Cancels Washington Redskins Trademark Registration
By 6.18.14
The already heated debate over the continued use of the term “Redskins” by the Washington, D.C., NFL team got hotter this morning, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceling the team’s trademark registration, saying it is “disparaging of Native Americans.” [More]
The Mad Genius Behind The Rebirth Of Hydrox, Astro Pops And Maybe Marshall Field’s
By 6.14.14
We’ve all felt the sting of losing a beloved brand when a company goes out of business, stops making your favorite candy or gets sold off bit by bit to the highest bidder. But what if you could resurrect those treasured relics of days gone by and bring them back anew? And how would it even be possible? [More]
Hershey Sues Edible Marijuana Maker Over Punny Product Names
By 6.9.14
We can’t imagine anyone with even the most basic grasp of the English language would confuse Hershey’s Almond Joy with “Ganja Joy,” an edible marijuana product. Nor do we think anyone will mistakenly buy a “Dabby Patty” thinking it’s a York peppermint patty. But we don’t work for the Hershey legal department, which has sued a Colorado company over punny pot product names that the chocolate goliath believes are too close to its trademarked brands. [More]
Author Suing Chobani Over Claim That It Ripped Off His Book For “How” Marketing Campaign
By 6.5.14
While there’s no way one person can have the sole rights to using certain words, like “how,” for example, one author going to battle with Chobani contends that the way those words are put together for marketing purposes should be protected from ripoffs. [More]
Latter-Day Saints Church Says Dating Site Can’t Match Mormons Because “Mormon” Is Their Trademark
By 6.3.14
A businessman wants to launch a new website. Like a Christian Mingle or a JDate, its purpose is to let members of a particular religion find love with one another. In this case, the target is members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, better known as Mormons. But he’s running into a snag with the name. When is a Mormon not a Mormon? When he’s a “Mormon®.” [More]
General Mills, Girl Scouts Go After Makers Of Liquid Nicotine Over Trademarked Names
By 5.27.14
Though the makers of e-cigarettes say their devices aren’t marketed to children, some companies that make liquid nicotine are not only using candy and fruit flavors that are forbidden from regular tobacco, but they’re using trademarked names of well-known snacks, sweets, and cereals. This isn’t sitting well with the companies that hold those trademarks. [More]
“Candy” Tastes Sweetest For Its New Trademark Owner
By 1.21.14
The mobile game hit du jour just got a new feature: extra trademark protection. The US Patent and Trademark office last week awarded King, makers of smash game Candy Crush Saga, a trademark on the word “candy.” [More]
Brewpub Shows Starbucks “The F Word” After Legal Demand To Stop Selling “Frappicino” Beer
By 12.31.13
Still stinging from yet another legal defeat against a small New Hampshire coffee company over the “Charbucks” brand, the Starbucks legal team appears to be going after lower-hanging fruit, sending a cease-and-desist letter to a small Missouri brewpub that dared to sell something called Frappicino beer. [More]
“Onesie” Is A Trademarked Term, Even Though No One Cares
By 11.15.13
What do you call a garment for infants and toddlers that’s a body suit with snaps at the crotch for easy diaper-changing? A “onesie”? No, no, gentle consumer, that’s not the case. Gerber (the baby stuff company, not the knife company) holds the trademark for the word “onesie.” [More]
Wendy’s Sues Ice Cream Company Over Frosty Trademark
By 6.24.13
If you’ve been to Wendy’s enough times, you’ve probably tried a Frosty, the chain’s not-exactly-a-milkshake-but-not-quite-ice-cream dessert offering. The fast food giant is now suing an Ohio-based ice cream company over what it claims is a deliberate attempt to cash in on the Frosty name. [More]
Joan Jett Sues Hot Topic Over “Blackheart” Trademark
By 6.14.13
I don’t shop at Hot Topic because I’m not a teenage girl, but I’ve heard that the stores exist. But I am old enough to remember Joan Jett and the Blackhearts at the height of their fame in the early ’80s. But now two generations are colliding in a mess of tee shirts, push-up bras, and nail polish as the rock star’s record label sues the retailer over the Blackheart brand. [More]
Dunkin’ Donuts Can’t Trademark “Best Coffee In America”
By 11.27.12
People might love Dunkin’ Donuts coffee — some might even say it’s the best around, and no one is saying the donut chain can’t call its brew America’s best. Regardless, DD’s application to trademark the phrase “Best Coffee in America” has been nixed for now. [More]
Trademark Office Doesn’t See Difference Between A Philadelphia Cheesesteak And “Philadelphia’s Cheesesteak”
By 10.12.12
Just about every pizza place, diner, deli and sandwich shop here in Philadelphia will make you a cheesesteak, and while many claim to make the city’s best, only one has actually tried — unsuccessfully thus far — to trademark the phrase “Philadelphia’s Cheesesteak.” [More]
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Suing Ben & Cherry's Pornos Because, Well, Duh
By 9.6.12
Perhaps some companies might not mind sharing similar names with a porno series, but when you’re America’s ice cream sweethearts, that’s just not gonna fly. Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is suing the company behind “Ben & Cherry’s” X-rated DVDS for besmirching its reputation with its “hardcore pornographic” fare. [More]
