“I Want to Trademark my Slogan or Logo”
First, stop doing that; it drives trademark lawyers crazy. You can’t “trademark” anything — it’s not a verb — but you can obtain trademark rights in your slogan or logo. When people talk about “trademarking” something, they usually use the term to refer to obtaining a federal trademark registration for the mark. It is important […]
“What should I name my company, product or service?” A trademark lawyer’s perspective.
It’s a common debate at many companies — what to name a new product or service (or the company itself). Part of this decision is informed by competing goals; should the name allow consumers to immediately discern what the product/service is, or should it be a distinctive term that is likely to “stick” in the […]
Five of the Most Common Trademark Questions
As a trademark lawyer, I’ve worked with hundreds of clients and potential clients who are going through their first ever experience with trademark protection. It is very common for such clients to have the same questions and I’m sure there are many more people who may never end up working with a trademark lawyer but […]
.XXX Domain Names and Trademark Owners
The newest top level domain name, .xxx, is intended to be utilized by purveyors of pornography and related explicit materials. The intention of the .xxx domain name is to make it easier for parents, technology vendors, and others who want to block minors or others from accessing such content. Adult industry companies have the first […]
How Much Does A Trademark Cost?
One of the most common questions that a trademark attorney is asked, is: how much will it cost to protect a trademark? This is no simple question because there are lots of options that may make the process more or less expensive. It is also true that lawyers very much dislike the idea of estimating […]
Trademarks and Baseball Cards
For any fellow baseball card collecting IP attorneys out there, it has been an exciting year due to a recent legal dispute between card manufacturer Upper Deck and Major League (Baseball) Properties. In short, the dispute at hand arises from Upper Deck’s printing and distribution of baseball cards showing players photographed in their MLB uniforms, […]
Can Someone “Trademark” the Term SEO?
In the past week, there’s been a lot of hullabaloo about someone attempting to file a U.S. trademark application for registration of the term “SEO.” The applicant in question here has identified a long litany of advertising related services in connection with which the SEO mark has been used. As surely as the phases of the moon […]
The Perils of a Poorly Chosen Trademark
Look no further than this news story about an Iowa t-shirt company that felt the very painful sting of failing to clear their trademark. The lessons that this company learned the hard way are the same ones I try to convey to my clients as early as possible in their business life cycle. The best […]
iPhone Developer Legal Guide
We are pleased to present the iPhone Developer Legal Guide, a short publication that covers several of the most pressing intellectual property issues of concern to iPhone Developers. Given the popularity of the iPhone app store and the still-exploding growth of development activity around it, we thought it would be useful for developers to get […]
Twitter Username Lawsuit Gone as Quickly as it Came
St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony Larussa filed in May a lawsuit against Twitter, claiming that the company’s allowance of the username “TonyLaRussa” was a violation of his rights. In particular, LaRussa claimed that the account and its use constituted a violation of his trademark rights, misappropriation of his name and likeness, and an invasion of […]