Branding in the Digital Age: A Brief Primer
Goodwin Procter LLP
To compete effectively, a business must achieve market recognition for itself and its products. The economic expansion of the last decade has greatly increased the number of businesses trying to get attention from prospective customers. At the same time, the Internet and other new venues for marketing have allowed for novel ways to compete for that attention. These factors present increasingly difficult challenges for businesses.
Trademark Issues on the Internet
Jason M. Kays, Attorney at Law
Introduction The Internet has changed the way the world does business..
Client Alert
Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
Specifically in the context of restaurants, trade dress can include both the exterior and interior architecture of .
Supreme Court Narrows Trade Dress Protections
Felicia J. Boyd of Faegre & Benson LLP
This article reviews the recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court (Wal Mart, Inc. vs. Samara Brothers) whereby the Court raised the bar on proving a trade dress claim. The Court ruled that trade dress can never be inherently distinctive.
Courts Using Different Standards to Determine Functionality in Trade Dress Protection
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Two recent cases deserve special attention for their use of alternative tests to determine whether trade dress con.
Selecting Good Trademarks
Mark A. Wright of McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, P.A.
The trademark you select identifies the source of your product or service and distinguishes it from the goods or services of other companies. A trademark should be memorable; should attract the eye, ear and mind of the potential purchaser; should elicit desirable consumer responses; and otherwise be distinctive. However, there is an inherent conflict between common marketing practices and trademark law.
IP Law Bulletin, March 22, 2000: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Samara Brothers, Inc.
Ina J Risman of Heller Ehrman LLP
This article reviews the recent US Supreme Court decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Samara Brothers, Inc. whereby the Court discussed the issue of when a product's design is protected as an unregistered trade dress.
Supreme Court Opinion Rules that the Federal Trademark Dilution Act ("FTDA") Requires Proof of Actual Dilution
Bassam N. Ibrahim and Bryce J. Maynard of Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis, L.L.P.
In a surprising decision with important ramifications for owners of famous trademarks, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on March 4, 2003 that the Federal Trademark Dilution Act ("FTDA") requires proof of actual dilution. Mosely v. V Secret Catalogue, Inc., No. 01-1015. Justice Stevens, writing for the Court, concluded that the FTDA "unambiguously requires a showing of actual dilution, rather than a likelihood of dilution."
TRADE DRESS--THE FORGOTTEN TRADEMARK RIGHT
Robert B. Golden of Lackenbach Siegel LLP
To understand how to protect trade dress rights, and why these rights are often forgotte.
US High Court Decides Pivotal Trade Dress Case
Sharon R. Klein and Pamela Haughton Denniston of Arent Fox LLP
This article summarizes the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Wal Mart Stores Inc. vs. Samara Bros. Inc., whereby the Court discussed the issue of product design trade dress.
Wine Trademarks Ripe for Confusion
James M. Seff of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
United States law favors free competition. To compete in the marketplace, providers of goods and services often us.
I Know It When I See It: A Practitioner's Guide To Identifying Third Party Trademarks That Are Likely To Dilute
Stacy L. Taylor of Foley & Lardner LLP
Dilution. To a chemist, it refers to the process of reducing the concentration of a solute in solution, usually simply by mixing with more solvent. But to a trademark lawyer, it is the raison de'etre for the Federal Trademark Dilution Act (FTDA), which provides in part that the owner of a famous mark is entitled to relief against another person's commercial use in commerce of a mark, "if such use begins after the mark has become famous and causes dilution of the distinctive quality of the mark."
It's No Secret - The Supreme Court Rules on the Federal Trademark Dilution Act
Sandra Edelman of Dorsey & Whitney LLP
The United States Supreme Court does not accept many trademark cases for review, and so on those rare occasions when the Court interprets the Lanham Act, trademark lawyers and their clients are usually eager to read what the Court has to say.
U.S. Supreme Court To Determine If A Product's Design Is "Inherently Distinctive" For Trade Dress Protection
Cook & Franke S.C.
The United States Supreme Court has granted certiorari to decide when a product's design is "inherently distinctive.
Supreme Court Cuts Back on Trademark Rights In TrafFix
Brian J. Downey of Jones Day
It is essential that clients and their lawyers consider functionality and its impact on trade dress claims prior to filing any utility patent application. Further, those seeking to protect a productÂs design as an indicator of origin must be extremely careful in either a patent prosecution or even marketing literature about making any claim about the design that relates to functionality.
Intellectual Property in M&A Transactions: What Diligence is Due?
William B. Payne,Scott D. Rothenberger and Jamie N. Nafziger of Dorsey & Whitney LLP
Concern about intellectual property issues in M&A transactions has been growing. The importance of intellectual property and how it will be handled is dependent on the facts of each transaction, but since due diligence is simply an investigation into the status of a business, it includes discovery or confirmation about whatÃÂs right and whatÃÂs wrong as evidenced in patents and trademarks. This article focuses on those due diligence issues.
Color Trademarks Revisited
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
In our April, 1994 Report, we discussed recent decisions by U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Eighth and Ninth Circui.
What's in a Name? Quite a Bit -- Maybe Your Whole Business!
Wendy L. Addiss of Coudert Brothers LLP
As the energy service industry changes and evolves, customer recognition of brand identity is more important than .
How To Select A Strong Company Name Or Product Name
Gabrielle A. Holley of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
This article summarizes the trademark process and provides suggestions on how one selects a strong name for a product or good.