Topics related to intellectual property routinely are neglected in daily business planning and operations (which is surprising given that intellectual property is by far the main value driver in most businesses). Take, for example, the hiring process. Businesses put a lot of time and effort into identifying employment candidates, planning and conducting candidate interviews, and orienting hires […]
In another Goliath versus David trademark battle, Bubble by Brooks successfully triumphs over corporate giant Brooks Brothers in the rights to keep “Brooks” company name. Over a year ago, Bubble by Brooks owner, Amy Brooks received a trademark infringement action lawsuit from high end clothier Brooks Brothers. The Brooks Brothers attorneys stated in their case […]
Generally speaking, the various Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programs in which the United States has participated since 2006 have all allowed patent applicants to use successful examination of a patent application in one jurisdiction to expedite examination of a related application in another jurisdiction. However, despite improvements in usability after years of pilots, the rules […]
On January 15th, Samsung trademarked the name “Galaxy Card”. But for what? Some are speculating that Samsung is looking to get into the Mobile Payment game, much like Google and other enterprising technologists have done. Innovating in other areas and trying to be more competitive with Google and Apple, Samsung has recently released a “wearable” […]
On December 9th, 2013, Exit 6 brewery outside of St. Louis, Missouri received a cease and desist letter from one of America’s largest national chains for coffee, Starbucks. The Starbucks’ legal team contacted the brewpub in an effort to have the business stop using the term “Frappicino” to describe one of the brewery’s stouts, a […]
Duckhorn Vineyards is suing Trinchero Family Estates over trademark infringement of their wine brand. Trinchero Family Estates recently paired up with A&E’s reality television family, Duck Dynasty, to produce a new wine called Duck Commander. Duckhorn argues their new wine brand infringes upon their already well established 30 year old brand causing consumer confusion. Is […]
Family restaurant recipes are often kept secrets to protect their livelihood and fend off competition, but it is rare for restaurants or individuals to claim patents for their food recipes. Why is that? The reason is it is simply too hard to prove a recipe is new and never invented before. I mean how many […]
The Beastie Boys are receiving a bad reputation after suing toy company GoldieBlox for copyright and trademark infringement of their song “Girls”, but apparently they were not the first to strike. GoldieBlox sued the Beastie Boys first! The trouble all began last month when the toy company GoldieBlox launched a highly successful YouTube video using […]
Smartphone word games popularity has exploded but is it because of their similarity to already existing word board games? The Mattel toymaker would argue this is indeed the case. They filed a lawsuit against Zynga for using a brand name too closely resembling their own. They argue that Zynga’s “Scramble with Friends” online word game […]
