OK, explain this to me. I see the large patent firms disappearing one by one. As far as I can tell, the Pennies, Fishes, Kenyons and Darbys of the world have been competently handling the largest, most complex patent litigations, since forever. So when they merge into a larger firm it is not as if
Predicting The Future
Matthew Homann’s The (Non) Billable Hour askd me to contribute 5 important isues and developments in trademark law, to his 5 X 5 feature. Four other IP practitioners chipped in with where they see patent and trademark law headed. In short, I saw more use of ADR, more use of XML, and more Initial Interest
Trademark Blog World Tour Goes To Phoenix
I will be in Phoenix the rest of this week, attending the INTA conference. I will be presenting a talk as part of a panel entitled “Famous and Well Known Marks.”
Ropes and Gray To Acquire Fish and Neave
Ropes and Gray has announced it will acquire intellectual property pioneer Fish and Neave. The combined firm will have 740 lawyers. FN will become known as the Fish and Neave Intellectual Property Group of Ropes and Gray, and will probably therefore get to keep using the Wright Brothers plane as part of its
Emotional Distress Inflicted By Email Providers
Right now if some of you were to email me you would get a bounceback message that would say ‘The recipient name is not recognized.’ At least one client called me, worried.
The statement might be technically true but misleading, in that all of the email provider’s recipients’ names are not being recognized, due to weekend
Red and Blue Brands?
I’ve written in the past on the effect of geopolitics on branding. For example, MECCA COLA and the RAZANNE Doll, are two products targeted to Moslems as alternatives to Western brands.
Will we see Red and Blue brands now?
Update: Blogger Andrew Raff points out that maybe we do already see this happening in the form
Trademark Law Is A Consumer Protection Law AND A Property Protection Law
Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing elaborates on the Wired article regarding the waning power of brands. Fair enough, but the article has something of a false premise. Consumer protection is one of two, not the sole, rationale for trademark law. The other rationale is the protection of the trademark owner’s intellectual property. A brand is
Justice Thomas To Be Next Chief Justice?
The Drudge Report is reporting that Justice Clarence Thomas is President Bush’s first choice to replace Justice Rehnquist as Chief Justice. This has been suggested previously by The Washington Post.
Here is an article on Justice Thomas’ views on commercial speech.
Wired: Are Brands Being Hurt By Informed Consumers?
Speaking of Personalities
Amazon is seeking resumes for the position of Senior Maanger of ‘Personality Lines.’ The job calls for ‘developing and executing innovative ideas and concepts with regard to exclusive celebrity-focused products on Amazon.com.’ Via Craigslist.