ICANN posted these “Criteria to Be Used in the Selection of New Sponsored TLDs.” Commentary from people who disagree with me here.
Example of Secondary Meaning in Color
New UPS logo, discussed But You Should Still Always Tell The Objectively Reasonable Truth
Not really trademark law but it happened in a trademark case: Defendant tells his law firm a cock-and-bull story. Submits the story in an affidavit. The law firm didn’t necessarily believe the story but later testified that it believed that the story was possibly true. The district court held that the law firm’s belief
Aggregators: I Would Like To Clarify Our Agreement
I am very happy to make an RSS feed of this web site available to aggregators who make NON-COMMERCIAL use of the feed. There is someone out there who is aggregating 40 law blogs and attempting to sell advertising. Please either stop selling the advertising or stop including my blog. Also, there is someone out
Appellations of Origin of the Day – Oil and Vinegar
My wife made a Toscano oil and Modena Balsamic Vinegar salad dressing last night. Olives have been grown in Toscano or Tuscany since 700 BC. TOSCANO is an appellation of origin for olive oil. Histories of balsamic vinegar suggest that it is so named because it had the healing qualities of a balm. It
Brand As Navigator – Let Your Fingers Do The Froogling
Over the past few months I have written a series of pieces under the heading “Brand as Navigator” on the general topic of how trademarks functions as navigational aids (domain names, paid search, meta-tags, keywords). Identical or similar trademarks are able to co-exist in the real world with (acceptable levels of) confusion only because of
Halo v. Blue Halo
Halo Management describes itself as a “Strategic Intellectual Asset Management” company, run by a patent lawyer. Its services are described here. It owns a federal registration for HALO for, among other services, web hosting services. Interland is a hosting company that offers BLUE HALO ARCHITECTURE hosting services. Here is a copy of Halo Management’s trademark
Warning: This Post Contains Links to Adult Content and Possible Trademark Dilution
First there were the unauthorized PUMA ads (background here, here and at this point, everywhere). Now we have ads disavowed by NOKIA and by VICTORIA’S SECRET. Bear in mind that there are differences in degree to ad parodies. There are ad parodies clearly presented as parodies (WACKY PACKS, for example). There are
All This Talk of Concurrent Use Is Making Me Hungry
Terrance Brennan is a noted Manhattan restaurateur who recently opened TERRANCE BRENNAN’S SEAFOOD AND CHOPHOUSE. The NY Times (registration required) reports that he prevailed yesterday in a lawsuit brought by the Brennan’s Inc, described as “the company that runs the 53-yr old restuarant in New Orleans.” Showing how much he learned during this experience, Terrence
If You Are Vin Diesel, Yell Really Loud
This should take your mind off things for at least 30 seconds.