I met David Donoghue at the ‘meet the bloggers’ thing Monday night. You should check out his Chicago IP Litigation Blog.
09 F9: What If It Were Your Bank PIN Number?
If someone had taken your online banking username and PIN number, and disseminated them on the Internet, then you would likely find expressions such as “censorship” and “how can you claim ownership in a number?” to be trite and, in this instance, besides the point.
Utah Keyword Law Update
Via Prof Goldman: ‘Utah Legislations Realizing They Screwed Up By Banning Keyword Advertising.’ (in which Utah companies are advising their local legislators that they like to buy keywords consisting of other trademarks).
“If I Want To Sit On A Couch, I Stay At Home”
This from a member of the Dunkin’ Donuts ‘tribe’, customers whose psychographics guided the brand to position itself as an unpretentious alternative to Starbucks. Also, the tribe convinced the company to change its ‘too stylish’ logo. WSJ: “Dunkin’ Donuts Tries to Go Upscale, But Not Too Far.”
Too Late To Register 09 F9 As A Domain Name
EFF provides the background law for the dissemination of an alphanumeric decryption code for a DRM product. A timeline of how the key spread would be of value.
Digg’s experience will make an interesting case study in how to manage risk in the era of user-generated content (and the disconnect between what a CEO believes
Bloggers Met By 60
Unreliable estimates place the crowd at 60 last night at MEET THE BLOGGERS III. Thanks to everyone who stopped by. Thanks to the Billy Goat Tavern. Thanks to John Welch for organizing the event. Maybe we’ll do a mid-year, maybe not, otherwise see you in Berlin. Photos here.
After the Blogging Thing, Kingston Mines Tonight
After the blogging get-together tonight at the Billy Goat Taven (which, I am told, is below street level so look for the stairs), a bunch of us are meeting up at Kingston Mines (a blues club), 2548 N. Halsted.
Trademark Blog Live In Chicago Monday April 30
Here’s the map of where the meet the bloggers thing is Monday night, 7:30 to 9:30. If you’d like to say hello and can’t make it Monday night, drop me a line – marty at schwimmerlegal dot com.
The Most ‘Powerful’ Brands In The World
Via News.com, via Scripting News, a brand consultancy has issued a list of the most ‘powerful’ brands in the world:
1. Google–$66.4 billion
2. General Electric–$61.9 billion
3. Microsoft–$55 billion
4. Coca-Cola–$44.1 billion
5. China Mobile–$41.2 billion
6. Marlboro–$39.2 billion
7. Wal-Mart–$36.9 billion
8. Citigroup–$33.7 billion
9. IBM–$33.6 billion
10. Toyota Motor–$33.4 billion
The methodology
Ninth Circuit: DISINFECTABLE Not PROTECTABLE
This Ninth Circuit decision on the word ‘DISINFECTABLE” ends with a flourish.