For those of you who have read some of my previous blog posts, you already know of my love-hate relationship with Apple. Well, the following story has tipped the scales more towards hate. On July 17, 2008, Apple applied to register APP STORE as a trademark for “retail store services featuring computer software provided via [...]
Naked Cowboy v. Naked Cowgirl: A Trademark Dispute Fit for a Nudist Colony (and New York City)
If you happen to be from New York City or perhaps a frequent tourist there, you may have come across Robert Burck in your journeys through the Big Apple. Burck, who is best known for strumming his guitar on the sidewalks of Times Square wearing only boots, a 10 gallon hat, and tighty-whities, has been [...]
Is RDIO a Trademark or a Typo?
This week’s post is in response to a fellow intellectual property attorney’s inquiry asking my opinion on the following matter (which he probably would have preferred in a 3-4 sentence email, but oh well). On May 4, 2009, a company out of California called Pulser Music Services, Inc. (“Pulser”) filed an application to register the [...]
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: “It’s more fun to file trademark oppositions than to catch crooks, so we’ll do that instead.”
As I was conducting my weekly ritual of browsing through newly-filed oppositions on the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s website, I came across one that every person who has ever purchased or traded a stock, mutual fund, or other security is helping to finance. On March 28, 2010, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission [...]
Apple Files Trademark Applications to Register Its iPod, iPhone, and iPad Icons
About a week and a half ago, it came to my attention that Apple has recently filed a slew of federal trademark applications (about 30) for many of the icons that appear on the iPod Touch, iPhone, and/or iPad. For those of you who have no clue what I’m talking about, each software application on [...]
“Remember the Alamo…and Remember to Register It!”
Earlier this week, I happened to come across an interesting article from the online version of The Dallas Morning News regarding a trademark dispute brewing between the State of Texas and a non-profit corporation called The Daughters of the Republic of Texas (“The Daughters”), which has operated and maintained The Alamo museum in San Antonio [...]
Tiny Ads on Google = Large Trademark Disputes In Courts
The week’s post comes courtesy of my twin brother Joe, who is also a licensed attorney living in Columbus, Ohio. Like a good older brother (by 6 minutes), he’s always looking out for fascinating trademark topics on which I can bloviate to my heart’s content. Well, my bro has come through for me over the [...]
Apple IPAD Trademark Update – The Story Keeps Getting Better!
A couple of months ago, I wrote about a potential trademark dispute stemming from Apple’s intended use of the name IPAD in connection with its soon-to-be-released tablet computer device. As a refresher, Fujitsu has owned a pending application for IPAD since 2003 for a “hand-held computing device for wireless networking in a retail environment.” According [...]
Subway Says: “Our 12 Inch Subs are FOOTLONGS, Your 12 Inch Subs are Any Other Unit of Measurement Equalling a Foot.”
This week’s post is a good example of the Trademark Office arguably failing to competently perform its duties and the importance of the opposition period to those who may be affected by the Trademark Office’s questionable decisions. On November 8, 2007, the well-known restaurant chain Subway filed an application to register the trademark FOOTLONG for [...]
December 7, 2009 – A Special (K) Day for Kellogg’s
As many of you already know from previous postings, I browse through the records of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board nearly every weekend to see what’s happening in the exciting world of trademark oppositions (what, you don’t spend your Sunday mornings doing the same thing?). Well, my research today revealed that the well-known Kellogg [...]
