A trademark has to be registered before protection starts. Although registering a trademark is always a great idea, protection of the trademark actually begins when the symbol or name is first used on the product or service (simply using in marketing materials is not enough). The criteria for protection includes: the symbol must be in […]
If Richard Branson has his way, it might be. Mr. Branson, the tremendously successful entrepreneur and chairman and founder of the Virgin Group has instituted a policy whereby the company’s lawyers aggressively target any company that uses the name Virgin in its own name, its marketing materials or within its URL. The Virgin group has […]
The Voice of America was created in 1942. It became famous during World War II when radio emcees would broadcast news, songs, updates and even propaganda to US and Allied citizens, and also to listeners in “enemy territory” who could pick up the broadcast signal. By the end of World War II, they provided content […]
You’ve got a great idea on a new product or service and you know exactly what you want to name it. Because you’re sure this will be your name, you might think that one of the first things you do is to register the trademark. But in reality, rushing to be first might not always […]
Most people think of Ski Town USA as Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The Steamboat Ski and Resort Corporation trademarked the name in 1959. Earlier this year, in order to entice more skiers to their city, the Visit Salt Lake organization started a campaign urging people to visit Ski City USA. They advertised that once you visited […]
Intellectual Property… You know that wonderful system that aims to foster an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish. It’s supposed to be a ‘feel good’ approach to knowing that you’re covered and no one can take advantage of your priceless and genuinely unique inventions. The laws behind IP are a bit more precise […]
In an an earlier blog we discussed how there has been a new IP Czar appointed. This blog post will discuss this topic in further detail. On Thursday 28 August, the White House announced that it is nominating a new Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, Daniel H. Marti. The role of Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator otherwise […]
On August 12, 2014, the film director Terry Gilliam was sued over a mural painting in his latest movie, The Zero Theorem. A group of street artists, two from Argentina and one from Canada filed the lawsuit claiming the alleged plagiarizing their mural in Argentina. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Illinois and […]
