Intellectual property tends to be a land of first come-first serve. Patents are only awarded to inventions that are new and non-obvious, which means your invention isn’t the logical next step based on what is already out in the world. Trademark protection looks at what marks potential customers have come into contact with in connection … Read more
Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §1052(a), is an absolute bar to federal trademark registration of immoral or scandalous matter. The ban on scandalous and immoral trademark registrations is not new. It first came into federal law in the Trade-Mark Act of 1905 and reaffirmed as part of §2(a) of the Act of 1946. … Read more
Somehow, somewhere, applying for a trademark became an invitation for junk mail and spam. It’s annoying, but some are worse than others. Some of the worst are notices that look like they are from the United States Patent and Trademark Office or foreign offices telling applicants they need to spend more money in order to … Read more
Just like Steve Rogers through his transition to Captain America, trademarks vary in strength. Some are burly superheroes, and some are weaklings hiding behind their bigger friends for protection. What makes a mark strong versus weak? The level of which your mark describes the good or service that you are selling. There is a spectrum … Read more
Fish fry season in full swing here in Wisconsin, but let’s be honest, when isn’t it? Our love of Friday Night Fish has even inspired websites like Madison Fish Fry to help hungry folk find their next beer battered entrée. Fish fry products, however, are more than something to stock up for the week’s end. … Read more
We now know the brackets for the NCAA tournament. How people choose their winners can be everything from favorite colors to hours of study. But two things are always certain during the tournament: Upset wins and a crackdown on businesses using “March Madness” without permission. Starting right around now, many companies are looking to cash in on … Read more
We just arrived home from a two-week trip to Japan. Almost every day, I did at least one thing that some would say I should be embarrassed to admit: I went to Starbucks. Every single day. And I don’t feel bad one little bit. Do you know why? Because my day just goes better if … Read more