Zippo Lighter announced that its has recently received a trademark registration for the shape of its lighters.  It distributed the picture (top above).  I looked at the PTO database and can’t find the registration to which they refer (another reminder that databases can be incomplete), but I did find their two-year old registration of a…

The Bush Adminstration is trumpeting hydrogen-fueled cars.  It had an “initiative” branding hydrogen as FREEDOM FUEL and hydrogen-powered cars as FREEDOMCARS. 

Before satirists had enough time to ask “Freedon from what,  the SUVs that currently receive tax preferences?,” the Adminstration pulled the name.  This article says it’s because Amway sells a fuel-additive named FREEDOM FUEL. 

What…

Let’s take the situation of the town of Paisley (see below).  It can’t prevent other people from producing paisley patterns because the patterns are in the public domain, and it can’t keep them from describing the patterns as paisley, because the term is now descriptive.  What it might consider in order to recapture some equity…

for non-billable time talking me through how to post pictures. Check him out.

The town of Paisley, Scotland, home of the Paisley design, is upset by a Japanese firm seeking rights in the name PAISLEY MUSEUM, according to this somewhat confusing article.  Original designs would themselves have entered the public domain name long ago.  The Paisley pattern itself is based on Indian motifs.  A good history on…