April 2007

Practice Pointer of the Week

By Marty Schwimmer on April 20, 2007

Why didn’t I think of this? Why didn’t somebody tell me this before? Teach yourself to compile your emails from the bottom up. First, if there’s an attachment, attach it first. That way you avoid having to send the “Oops, this time with attachment” follow up. Then compose your email before you address it. That…

Trademark Blog Live In Chicago Monday April 30

By Marty Schwimmer on April 19, 2007

Posted in Miscellany

Billy Goat Tavern, 430 N. Michigan, Monday Night, April 30, 7:30 to 9:30. Convenient to all buses going to bigger better financed INTA parties. Ron Coleman of Likelihood of Confusion, John Welch of TTAB Blog and a domestic shorthair from IPKat will be signing copies of their blogs. My colleagues from Moses and Singer will…

How Much Green To Deep Purple?

By Marty Schwimmer on April 19, 2007

Posted in Copyright

Who does Dodge have to pay to use ‘Smoke on the Water’, and how much?
Who does Apple have to pay to use ‘School of Rock’ using ‘Smoke on the Water’ and how much?
I asked my colleague at Moses and Singer, Paul Fakler, these questions.
The song is performed in two ways in…

Parody Different

By Marty Schwimmer on April 19, 2007

Posted in Coulrophobia

Discuss, using the phrases ‘Cat Is Not In The Hat”, “Mastercard v. Nader” and “Weird Al Yankovic” in your answer.
UPDATE: Friend of the blog James G. points out that the ‘Here’s to the crazies’ commercial has been done before. Same question as above. As for me, I think both analyses would come out…

World’s Oldest Trademark Available?

By Marty Schwimmer on April 18, 2007

Posted in Miscellany

In 2002 we reported on some of the oldest business names in the world. The Japanese business KONGO GUMI, reportedly founded in 578, was a possible winner. Alas, Business Week reports that Kongo Gumi, family-run all those years, has gone out of business.

Breakfast of the Gods

By Marty Schwimmer on April 17, 2007

Posted in Branding

The Lords of Breakfast – a re-telling of Lord of the Rings but with breakfast cereal mascots.

EFF Requests that Utah AG Stay ‘Electronic Registration’ Law

By Marty Schwimmer on April 17, 2007

Posted in Search Engines

EFF Requests that Utah AG delaly implementation of the ‘Electronic Registration’ law.
If you’re aware of the circumstances under which a State AG can delay implementing a law, sua sponte, then please advise and I’ll post it.

Another Profession Taken Over By Robots

By Marty Schwimmer on April 16, 2007

Posted in Miscellany

Via Boing Boing, Robots act as ‘touts’ for sex clubs in Osaka. It’s a long and involved story but there’s an interesting speech issue, and an interesting agency/principal issue.