The Glad Products Company (“Glad Products”) has been using the trademark GLAD since 1962 in connection with the advertising and sale of plastic bags. If you walk down one of the 25 aisles at your local Walmart (don’t ask me which one), you’ll see that Glad Products offers all kinds of plastic bags for household [...]
When Trademark Searches Go Wild!
This past week, I conducted a trademark search for a client that reminded me just how wacky and frustrating the Trademark Office can be. For a variety of reasons, I am not going to reveal the exact trademark I searched. Instead, I will say that I performed a trademark search on the mark THE CARBON [...]
“2012″ Trademarks: Amusing, Interesting, and Presumptuous
First of all, I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! I hope 2012 brings all of you much joy, success, and prosperity. My New Year’s resolution is to continue building my trademark law practice and to spend more time seeing and learning about the world. I’m actually going on my very first [...]
Atlanta Braves File Trademark Opposition Against Disney’s Trademark Applications for “BRAVE”
I almost put this trademark dispute in the “ridiculous trademark opposition” category, but I didn’t want to add insult to injury after the Atlanta Braves’ embarrassing late-season collapse that resulted in the team missing the postseason after leading the St. Louis Cardinals by 10.5 games in the wild card race. See, I actually do have [...]
Can Coca-Cola Own Trademark Rights in the Word “Zero?”
This week’s trademark article is about one of my favorite sodas currently on the market. It has that unmistakable Coca-Cola taste with none of the high fructose corn syrup that makes you fat. Honestly, I have no idea why someone would choose to buy Diet Coke when Coca-Cola Zero is readily available and has so [...]
Chick-fil-A (Owner of EAT MOR CHIKIN Trademark) Objects to Use of EAT MORE KALE on Shirts
Chick-fil-A is the second largest chicken restaurant chain in the United States. Its most successful print and television marketing campaign involves a bunch of cows engaging in desperate and hilarious antics in an effort to convert beef lovers into chicken fans. For the past 16 years, Chick-fil-A has been using the tagline EAT MOR CHIKIN [...]
No Trademark Search = Infringement Notice from Maker of Dr. Martens
A couple of weeks ago, I received a telephone call from a potential client located here in the Midwest. He told me that he recently received a letter from a trademark attorney representing Airwair International Limited. Airwair is the British company that manufactures Dr. Martens footwear. Now, if you’ve ever owned a pair of Dr. [...]
Ridiculous Trademark Dispute of the Week: The Battle for “YUUUP!”
This week’s article is about an awesome reality show on the A&E television network and some rapper I’ve never heard of who hopefully falls off the face of the Earth sooner rather than later after stirring up this ridiculous trademark dispute. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of watching “Storage Wars,” the [...]
What are the Differences Between Trademarks, Copyrights, and Patents?
It has been my experience over the years that people are generally confused about the differences between trademarks, copyrights, and patents. The general public tends to use these terms interchangeably as if they’re synonyms. Well, it is my hope that this brief article will clear up any confusion you might have about these three forms [...]
