Do you remember the ridiculously cheesy LifeCall commercial that first aired in 1989? Perhaps you may be able to recall it better with this famous catchphrase, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” Do you now remember? LifeCall, a medical alert and protection company produced this commercial showing an elderly woman fall within her […]
By: Tyler Hampy To begin, what is unfair competition? Although the courts have had little success in defining unfair competition in the abstract, Black’s Law Dictionary defines unfair competition as dishonest or fraudulent rivalry in trade and commerce, specifically, the practice of endeavoring to pass off one’s own goods or products in the market […]
You started your company four years ago and everything is going well when all of a sudden you are handed a cease and desist letter. The letter informs you that you are using another company’s trademark – their company name. What are you to do? With the world increasingly getting smaller thanks to the internet, […]
By Daniel Davidson The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is warning owners of patent and trademark registrations to be cautious when it comes to solicitations received in the mail. The USPTO has received numerous complaints from patent and trademark owners regarding solicitations that are deceptive and request that money be sent to them to monitor […]
Near the beginning of the film The Hangover: Part II, the four friends are walking through the Los Angeles International Airport on their way to board a flight to Thailand for Stu’s bachelor party. Alan, Mr. Socially Awkward, is carrying an over- the-shoulder bag appearing to be a pricey and lavish Louis Vuitton. While waiting […]
How to Trademark Brand Logo If you are an avid trivia enthusiast like me you may have stumbled upon the popular website called sporcle.com. This website tests your trivia knowledge on an array of topics from geography to television. One quiz I recently took was called “Can you name the corporate logos?” I played and […]
What is a company trademark? “A trademark is any name, symbol, figure, letter, word, or mark adopted and used by a manufacturer or merchant in order to designate his or her goods and to distinguish them from those manufactured or sold by others.” – defined by dictionary.com. There are many different types of distinctive marks […]
In today’s web 2.0 world, it is even harder for companies to protect their trademarks. With more and more people interacting on these social media sites, we see more cases of trademark infringement. Many times the infringers are not even aware that what they are doing is illegal. For example, fans of a product or […]
By: Tyler Hampy Say that you really want to use a phrase or logo that you know is trademarked. Is there a way you can use the mark without getting yourself into trouble? The answer is yes! You need a trademark license. A trademark license is a permit to use another’s mark. It gives you […]
