by Angela Langlotz | Aug 13, 2018 | Copyright Registration, Copyrights |
Last week a reader asked, “Paying for copyright protection is supposed to shield you, but the office lists online what you have submitted to them, thereby completely exposing your material for anyone who can do a simple free search. How does copyright protection...
by Angela Langlotz | Aug 6, 2018 | Trademark Registration, Trademarks |
I’ve had several people email and message me about the Play-Doh trademark, so it’s time to do a segment on America’s favorite modeling clay. We’re all shocked — shocked! — to learn that the smell of childhood favorite Play-Doh is now a registered...
by Angela Langlotz | Jul 23, 2018 | Design Marks, Design Patents, Patents, Trademark Infringement, Trademarks |
Jilted dating app company Tinder is playing hardball with rival Bumble, which it tried unsuccessfully to earlier acquire, and has filed a lawsuit alleging that Bumble is infringing its patent, its trademarks, and stealing trade secrets. Hey, if you can’t woo ‘em, sue...
by Angela Langlotz | Jul 16, 2018 | Trademark Infringement, Trademark Usage, Trademarks |
Dating app company Tinder is showing no love to rival Bumble, and has filed a lawsuit alleging that Bumble is infringing it’s patent, it’s trademarks, and stealing trade secrets. That’s a whole lotta suing, and today I’ll talk about the trademark infringement issue....
by Angela Langlotz | Jul 9, 2018 | Design Marks, Trademark Registration, Trademark Usage, Trademarks |
I’ve mentioned before that just about anything distinctive that serves as a source identifier is capable of functioning as a trademark. This includes some unusual things, like sounds, that we don’t normally think of when we think about trademarks. Harley Davidson has...
by Angela Langlotz | Jul 2, 2018 | Trademarks |
Earlier I discussed QUATTROPORTE and how it was merely descriptive for a four-door car. My friend Ben Perry (who I’m tagging in this post) made a comment that made my question whether or not I did a good job of explaining “merely descriptive” or not. I decided that if...
by Angela Langlotz | Jun 27, 2018 | Trademark Office Actions, Trademark Registration, Trademarks |
Last weekend I was out at a fancy art event, and saw a beautiful Maserati Quattroporte, and that got me thinking, as often happens, about trademarks. I wondered if Maserati had registered a trademark for QUATTROPORTE, and if so, what register it was on, the...
by Angela Langlotz | Jun 17, 2018 | Copyright Infringement, Copyright Licensing, Copyrights |
United States copyright law grants the creator of any creative work the right to their creation. It means that a creator has the exclusive right to their work, and the right to make copies, make derivative works, and distribute the work. Notice that as a creator that...
by Angela Langlotz | Jun 11, 2018 | Trademark Registration, Trademark Usage, Trademarks |
When you file your trademark application, eventually, you have to submit a “specimen.” What’s a “specimen?” Recall that you have to actually USE a trademark to have trademark rights. When you file an application based on your use of the mark, you have to show that you...
by Angela Langlotz | Jun 5, 2018 | Trademark Registration, Trademark Usage, Trademarks |
Are your trademarks suggestive? If so, hurray for you, because “suggestive” marks make some of the very best trademarks. Why? Because they suggest — but don’t come right out and describe — certain qualities about the product associated with the mark. These...
