Recently, Interbrand, a leading brand consulting firm, released their ranking of the top 100 brands based on brand value. This is the ninth consecutive year that Interbrand has released the ranking. Interbrand reports that this is the first year that the aggregate value of the top 100 brands has declined, a loss of about 4.6% [...]

Filed under: Miscellaneous, Trademark by davidi
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Recently, Paice LLC filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) claiming Toyota is infringing its patent. The ITC was set up to protect U.S. markets from unfair trade practices. To protect U.S. markets, the ITC has the power to order U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to block products that infringe on U.S. [...]

Filed under: Trademark by davidi
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Attorney General Lisa Madigan recently filed lawsuits against three suppliers and one marketer of the Acai berry in the Circuit Court of Cook County.  The lawsuits allege that the companies use deceptive techniques to lure customers, prematurely charge their credit cards, and make it almost impossible to cancel orders of the berry. Madigan stated “[t]he [...]

Filed under: In the Courts, Trademark by brandond
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Massively multiplayer online games (“MMO”) are online role playing games where players from all over the world interact with one another. Often in MMOs, a player creates a character, also known as an avatar, which becomes an embodiment of the player in the game. MMO players may set up a virtual business where they provide [...]

Filed under: Trademark by davidi
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On July 28, 2009, Microsoft Corporation filed an application for a trademark in the U.S. Trademark Office. The application, U.S. Serial No. 77/791,528, seeks registration of a design in International Class 35 for “retail store services and online retail services featuring computers, computer hardware, software, computer games, computer peripherals, portable music players and accessories, personal [...]

Filed under: Trademark by davidi
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After the announcement that David Kappos was nominated for the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), there has been much speculation about possible reform programs that Kappos may enact.  The USTPO faces a few major problems due to the increase in applications and complexity of technology.  The USPTO is backlogged with [...]

Filed under: Dead Patents, In Congress, In the USPTO, International Patent, Miscellaneous, Patent, Trademark by brandond
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On July 15, 2009, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum opened an exhibit commemorating Michael Jackson by displaying his patents and trademarks.  The exhibit is hosted at the USPTO building in Alexandria, Virginia.  The exhibit features drawings from a patent Michael held (see article: [...]

Filed under: Trademark by brandond
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Gosling’s Export is a two century old company from Bermuda. The company’s signature product is a rum called Black Seal.
Gosling’s website, http://www.goslingsrum.com/home.asp, shares a recipe for a drink, invented in Bermuda around WWI, called the “Dark ‘N Stormy.” The “Dark ‘N Stormy” is made by filling a tall glass with ice, adding two ounces of [...]

Filed under: International Trademark, Trademark by davidi
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The United States Patent Office has begun testing a new website. The USPTO’s press release states that the “new site has been redesigned to improve the look and feel, as well as to enhance the user experience with improved navigation.” Ultimately, the goal is to make the USPTO’s website “technologically up-to-date, user friendly, and responsive [...]

Filed under: In the USPTO, Patent, Trademark by davidi
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AdWords is a Google advertising product that allows advertisers to bid on words.  Then, when a searcher enters one of those words, the advertiser’s website appears on either the side or top of the returned search page.
On May 14, 2009, Google announced that it will change its policy on trademarks with AdWords.  Currently, Google prohibits [...]

Filed under: In the Courts, Trademark by davidi
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