December 31, 2009
Michael Jordan Sues Grocery Stores for Trademark Infringement… After They Congratulate Him!
You may have already heard about the latest trademark infringement case, where Michael Jordan (yes, that Michael Jordan) has sued two grocery store chains, Jewel-Osco and Dominick’s for trademark infringement, after the stores ran full page ads in a Sports Illustrated issue dedicated to the accomplishments of Jordan. This comes on the heels of Jordan’s ridiculous Hall of Fame induction speech, in which he just ranted about how great he is. Michael – can you get more arrogant? Who is advising you? Please fire them and get someone else – I think you can afford it!
“Hmmm… I wonder if my attorney has read New Kids on the Block v. News America or ETW v. Jireh“
For those of you who like your information straight from the source and unfiltered, you can find Mr. Jordan’s complaints here and here.
At the end of the day, Jordan probably has a case. He owns a trademark on his name, and has probably gone to great lengths to protect his trademarks. Clearly, the Jordan brand is quite valuable. In my humble opinion, however, I do not think that every possible trademark infringement case needs to be prosecuted. There is such a thing as bad publicity.
December 21, 2009
‘Tis the Season for Holiday Patents – Enjoy!
I was just a bit curious as to the types of patents that have been issued with some holiday themes, so I did a little search. The patents below are real patents that have been issued. Please enjoy and let us know what you think.
December 17, 2009
Some Irony That Will Make Any Trademark Attorney Laugh
One of the partners from our firm, Philip Zies, told me about a story that really made me laugh today. (No, I’m not going to write LOL, and you’re a putz if you use that too often.) Apparently, the ship design used in The Pirate Bay logo has been hijacked by a Swedish Company for its own commercial exploitation. (Source.)
For the uninitiated, The Pirate Bay is a site where users “share” BitTorrents. Who knows what the real intent of the site is, but the fact of the matter is that The Pirate Bay has become a site where users obtain copyrighted materials illegally. A user can simply download music, movies, software, television shows, etc. without the mess of having to pay for it. I am not saying that every use of The Pirate Bay is an infringing use, so please do not take it that way. It is just that most users of such sites are generally trying to obtain copyrighted materials for free.
December 15, 2009
Does Disney Own the Concept of a Castle?
It is a well known axiom of U.S. intellectual property law that there is no protection afforded to mere ideas. In order to employ the force and power of our legal system to enforce your intellectual property rights, you must have something more concrete than an idea. In patent law, for example, you must have reduced your invention to practice (although constructive reduction to practice can be used to satisfy the requirement). In trademark law, you must have actually used your mark in association with goods or services. In the realm of copyrights, an author must fix her expression in a tangible form before the government will recognize any exclusive rights.
The bottom line is that you can’t sue anyone for “stealing your idea” or “taking that movie plot you thought of.” This concept is hard for some to grasp, and every so often, a big player in the IP world may take advantage of this common misunderstanding. While perusing sites that sell graphic tees (one of my favorite forms of communication – e.g., here, here, or here), I came across an example of this that I think is worth sharing.
December 9, 2009
The Solution to the BCS Conundrum, Found at the Patent Office
If you follow college football at all, or alternatively, the circus act that we call Congress, you have probably heard the controversy about college football. It happened just this past weekend. Is it fair how the players of the championship game for the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) are selected? Since I live in Florida, and I am surrounded by Florida Gator fans, the answer is a resounding NO! Just take a look at this year – the University of Florida Gators have been the #1 team all year long, and University of Alabama has been #2 for most of the year. Both teams were undefeated, and both are in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). It’s hard not to say that the SEC was the toughest football conference this year – and this is coming from a guy who bleeds Wolfpack red (yes, it was a tough season) and generally roots for the ACC (except for Carolina).
UF was a victim, and Alabama was the victor, of the strength of the SEC. The two were undefeated this season and, as such, were forced to meet in the SEC championship game. Someone was coming out of that game with a loss and, unfortunately, it was Florida. When a team has been as dominant over the past several years as Florida has been, a loss like that was a tough pill to swallow.
December 4, 2009
New IP Bully Award Nominees
by Philip Zies
Major League Baseball – for opposing two applications filed with the PTO by Mattingly Hitting Products, Inc., Don Mattingly’s sporting equipment and apparel company, to register a logo (pictured below). MLB alleges a likelihood of confusion with its “Silhouetted Batter Logo” (source)
Are you likely to be confused?
Global Findability – for suing Summit Entertainment, the producers of the sci-fi flick, Knowing
Nic Cage, fretting over impending patent litigation
As always, feel free to sound off in the comments about your favorite IP Bully, or email us at tacticalip@gmail.com.
December 3, 2009
The Perils of Filing Your Own Federal Trademark Application
Those trademark owners who attempt to file and prosecute their own trademark applications are really being pennywise and pound foolish. At least that is the indication we are getting from some serious issues that we have been dealing with in prosecuting federal trademark applications. I appreciate the reasons for filing your own trademark applications, particularly in this economy. Many times, trademark owners are small companies in their infancy, or individuals that are trying to minimize legal fees while attempting to obtain valuable trademark protection. Nevertheless, there is significant long term damage that can be caused by filing your own trademark, or relying on a one-size-fits-all service provided by non-attorneys.
I have received an influx of clients lately that have filed their own trademark applications and some that have used non-attorney services. These clients are now up against some very tough rejections from the Trademark Office, or are having other difficulties with the trademark prosecution process. Inevitably, these clients wind up spending more money to pay an attorney to fix the application or to re-file the application, than it would have cost to hire an experienced trademark attorney to file the application for them. Trademark owners may believe that filing and prosecuting a trademark application is a simple process and, I must admit that it is not the most complicated document in the world to file, especially for attorneys that have experience in filing trademark applications.
