Recently the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), who are the guys who decide all sorts of things about how website addresses work, approved the creation of a new .xxx domain. It’s intended for the adult entertainment industry, but brands have only until October 28th to act before fleshpot slingers start using addresses like mcdonalds.xxx and johndeere.xxx to steal traffic. [More]
trademarks
SF Giants, MLB Sued Over "San Francisco" Logo
By 10.12.11
If you’ve ever visited San Francisco, you’ve likely seen — and perhaps purchased — a coat or sweatshirt emblazoned with the city name in a distinctive script font, much like the “San Francisco” on jackets and other gear worn by the San Francisco Giants baseball team. Well, now the team, along with Major League Baseball, finds itself in a legal battle with the apparel company that says it owns the trademark. [More]
Florida Restaurant Sues Wendy's Over "You Can't Fake Fresh" Slogan
By 7.15.11
Many of the trademark infringement stories we cover involve mammoth corporations picking on smaller, unrelated businesses, but this one’s a bit different. A small chain of seafood restaurants in Florida has filed a $2 million lawsuit against Wendy’s over the use of the phrase “You can’t fake fresh.” [More]
Judge: Apple's "App Store" Suit Against Amazon Will Probably Fail
By 6.24.11
It looks like Steve Jobs may have found his Waterloo in his war to defend Apple’s application to trademark the phrase “App Store.” A federal judge has advised the company that it will likely lose its lawsuit against Amazon.com over the e-tailer’s Appstore. [More]
Amazon's Defense in Apple Lawsuit: Steve Jobs' Own Words
By 4.27.11
Should “apps store” really be “Apps Store®,” a trademarked phrase tied exclusive to Apple and its application store for its devices? Amazon didn’t seem to think so. But when it opened the Amazon Appstore for Android, the online retailer still got slapped with a lawsuit from Apple. [More]
Healthy Cooking Teacher Must Stop Taking Name Of Kraft Mac & Cheese In Vain
By 4.21.11
In the mysterious northern land of Canada, the delicious boxed food-like substance that we Americans call “Kraft Macaroni & Cheese” is called by its original name: “Kraft Dinner,” or “KD,” affectionately. When a Calgary food blogger began a cooking class for college students meant to show them quick, easy, and non-orange food options, he called it “Kick the KD.” Then Kraft contacted him to let him know that they didn’t appreciate having the name of their flagship product taken in vain. [More]
Apple Sues Amazon For Using The Phrase "App Store"
By 3.22.11
Earlier this year we wrote about Microsoft’s bid to block Apple from trademarking the phrase “app store,” and now comes news that Apple has filed a lawsuit against Amazon.com for using those words. [More]
Casey's General Stores Sues Subway Over "Footlong" Exclusivity Claim
By 2.14.11
Last spring, we wrote about Subway sending out cease-and-desist letters to sandwich shops that dared to use the term “footlong.” Now, Casey’s General Stores, a regional convenience store chain, has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging the fast food Goliath’s claim to exclusivity on the word. [More]
Microsoft To Apple: You Can't Trademark "App Store"
By 1.12.11
It’s been over two years since Apple first submitted an application to trademark the phrase “App Store,” but that hasn’t stopped Microsoft from attempting to stymie the iPhone maker’s request. [More]
Chippendales Fail At Trademarking Dancers' Outfits
By 10.4.10
We don’t know about you, but the first think we think of when someone says “Chippendales Dancers,” is Chris Farley in nothing but a bow tie, shirt cuffs and spandex pants. And yet, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, that isn’t enough to trademark male revue’s signature outfits. [More]
DC Comics Goes Batty, Fights BBQ Restaurant Over Trademark
By 9.2.10
Had the owner’s of BATS BBQ in Rock Hill, SC, not attempted to file a trademark application for their logo (see image to the left), they probably wouldn’t have drawn the attention of lawyers for DC Comics, who say the bat icon used in the logo is a little too similar to one of the many Batman logos they have already trademarked. [More]
Where Do You Stand On The Geek Squad vs. God Squad Debate?
By 8.17.10
For at least two years, a priest in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, had been rolling the streets of his town in a VW Beetle with the words “God Squad” stenciled on its door in a design reminiscent of the logo seen on Best Buy’s Geek Squad vehicles. Now the priest’s car is unadorned after the retail chain got wind of his wheels and issued a cease and desist order. [More]
North Face Reaches Settlement With South Butt
By 4.13.10
Clothier North Face has reached an out-of-court settlement with parody vestment maker “South Butt.” Once again, comedy wins! [More]
South Butt Rebuts North Face
By 2.1.10
“South Butt,” sued by North Face for trademark infringement, has filed a delightfully nyah-nyah answer to the apparel maker’s legal claims. While North Face asserts that South Butt is sewing confusion and mistake among consumers, and deceiving them, the parody company, intent on a 1st Amendment defense, insists that that “the consuming public is well aware of the difference between a face and a butt.” The rest of the fun filing, inside… [More]
NYC Police Dept Stops Giving Counterfeit Clothing To Charity
By 1.13.10
It turns out H&M and Walmart aren’t the only two organizations caught destroying clothes they couldn’t sell. Yesterday the New York Times reported that the NYC Police Department has also been destroying clothing that would otherwise be wearable. The big difference this time is that the clothing is counterfeit. [More]
Trademark Wars: SPARC International Tells Small Electronics Website To Stop Existing
By 10.26.09
The whole David and Goliath trademark thing continues with two new players. Meet SPARC International, a self-described “extremely valuable asset” belonging to Sun Microsystems, and SparkFun Electronics, a website where you can buy things to make little robots and stuff.
Brewery Owner Stares Down, Whups Monster In His Closet
By 10.22.09
Score a victory for the little guy. Matt Nadeau, the owner of the Rock Art Vermont brewery, which was slapped with a lawsuit by the sue-happy makers of the Monster energy drink for brewing a beer called “Vermonster,” has gotten the bullies to step off.
Monster Energy Threatens Actual Movie Monster (We're Not Kidding)
By 10.16.09
We’re back to thinking Hansen Beverage Company is being taken for a ride by its legal counsel, Continental Enterprises, with this latest chapter in their trademark bullying saga. An actor named Trygve Lode has been contacted by Continental Enterprises on behalf of Hansen and told to remove all advertising and sales of Monster Energy from his site. The only reference to Monster Energy is the photo above.
