Perhaps parents want to show their pre-school children the BOB THE BUILDER website at BOBTHEBUILDER.COM. 

Oops, that was really BOBTHEBIULDER.COM, which directs to a pornography site.

Maybe your children want to see websites about Aaron Carter,  Britney Spears,  Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Digimon, Dragonball Z, the Muppets, Rug Rats, or Sailor Moon.  They better…

Honeywell has lost its motion for a preliminary injunction regarding Eco Manufacturing’s distribution of a round thermostat.  Honeywell’s own thermostat had been the subject of a long-expired utility patent, and thus the round shape of the dial was functional, and not protectable as trade dress.

Eco Manufacturing v. Honeywell, 1:03-cv-0170 (S.D. Ind. June 20,

Via the NY Times, “The Marketing of No Marketing,” about the relative success of PABST BLUE RIBBON’s no advertising no-hype approach.  Although the article refers to the NO LOGO movement and eponymous book by Naomi Klein, the success of PABST seems to illustrate less and anti-brand movement and more what type of brand…

Sunrise period opens for .kids.us.

The Sixth Circuit has denied Tiger Woods’ appeal of a decision dismissing his trademark and right of publicity claims against an artist who had included Woods’ image in a lithograph entitled “Masters of Augusta” (above).  In pertinent part:

” . . .we find that Rush’s work does contain significant transformative elements which make it especially worthy

…

Viacom lost its appeal of the SPIKE TV case before the Appellate Division of NY State Supreme Court yesterday.  Viacom alleges that it has wasted $17 million in promotional expenses as a result of the injunction.  Two reactions: first, I wouldn’t be thinking about Spike TV at all if it weren’t for this case.  Second…

Via The Age, a New Zealand ‘porn king’ who offers an adult magazine named NZX, is threatening to sue the New Zealand Stock Exchange, which has re-branded itself as NZX. 

This would have been an interesting case.  Weight Watchers had sued a UK Supermarket for publishing ” Weight Watchers points” on its packaging – indicating to dieters how many ‘points’ that particular meal would use dieter’s allotment of points.  But the case  is reported to have been settled.

Weight Watchers success story, Fergie, depicted right.