“In order to attain trademark registration, a product configuration must clear two hurdles: functionality and acquired distinctiveness. [Of course, under Wal-mart v. Samara, a product configuration can never be inherently distinctive.] Hershey managed to clear both hurdles in this appeal from a refusal to register the product configuration shown below for “candy, chocolate.”
- Hershey Clears Hurdles For Trademark Registration Of Chocolate Bar Product
“The council opted to remove the word from its official list after facing legal pressure from Google, who didn’t actually want it removed from usage. Google lawyers actually took issue with the definition of the word, which initially was listed as something that couldn’t be found using a search engine. Google wanted that definition to specifically refer to Google’s search engine.”
- ‘Ungoogleable’ No Longer A Word In Sweden After Legal Pressure From Google
The U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) initially had concerns that the ‘mini’ in iPad mini was not a recognizable sign or design and was just a description. Basically, the word “mini” indicates that it is a smaller version of the iPad, a term that is already trademarked. The USPTO also had a concern over the iPad mini’s overview page being used as Apple’s ‘specimen,’since the specimen is supposed to show an instance of the trademark ‘as your purchasers encounter it in the marketplace,’ according to the USPTO web site.”
– iPad mini trademark concerns withdrawn by U.S. Patent Office, but issues remain
“[The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers] is launching the clearinghouse as a way for trademark owners to protect their intellectual property as the organization prepares to allow hundreds of new gTLDs (generic top-level domains) in the coming months. The clearinghouse will allow trademark owners to register their marks before a new TLD is launched and protect their trademarks if other companies try to register a website using their trademarks after a TLD is operating.”
“The University of Texas has sued Michael Weir d/b/a Horns Inc., accusing the apparel designer of infringing UT’s Hook ‘em Horns hand gesture. Horns Inc. designs shirts that display a hand signal, which is sometimes referred to as the ‘sign of the horns.’”
“Local sex work activist Siouxsie Q announced today that she has decided to resolve her conflict with Chicago Public Media and Ira Glass by changing the name of her podcast from This American Whore to The Whorecast. Glass and CPM, who jointly own his acclaimed radio program, This American Life, threatened legal action against Siouxsie Q earlier this year, claiming that This American Whore was infringing on their trademark.”
- This American Life Lawyers Force This American Whore Podcast to Change Its Name
“The tiny, detailed, 3-D printed Iron Throne iPhone dock is no more, thanks to a cease-and-desist letter from HBO, which owns the rights to the Game of Thrones series. Fernando Sosa, who modeled the throne in Autodesk Maya based on still images from the series, began selling it beside other 3-D printed sculptures on his site, nuPROTO.com. But while it was still in pre-order, HBO found out … So Sosa went back to HBO and inquired about licensing. Impossible, said the company, because they’d licensed the idea for a throne iPhone dock to somebody else. HBO wouldn’t say who, and wouldn’t allow Sosa to contact them about sharing the design.”
“… Beats says that it has revolutionized the use of headphones as a fashion accessory, and is alleging that Yamaha is trading off the goodwill of its products. Beats Electronics’ lawsuit alleges violations of patents and trade dress from Yamaha’s Pro 300, Pro 400 and Pro 500 lines of headphones. The plaintiff seeks to protect rights on several of its products — including its Studio, Solo and Wireless Headphones — and that its proprietary trade dress extends to “the overall appearance of the shape and design of the headphone, including the size, proportion and curvature of the headband, yoke and earcups.”
“With what can only be described as generous bravado, the director, Randy Moore, bought season tickets and secretly filmed his actors at the theme park. Disney World is a major part of the plot: it’s on the ‘It’s a Small World” ride that the lead begins to lose his sanity; later, he is tasered and held inside Spaceship Earth, the golf-ball-esque Epcot Center. New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and other news organizations have speculated that ‘Escape from Tomorrow’ must violate Disney’s rights and that its lawyers will seek to have the film enjoined. At the Sundance Film Festival, where the film premièred this week, Moore was onstage answering questions when someone in the audience asked, roughly, “Why did you put so much work into a film that violates so many laws?”
– No Location Releases, No Film? Indie Film ‘Escape From Tomorrow’ Pushes The Envelope
“Colin Kaepernick has applied to trademark the term ‘Kaepernicking.’ ‘Kaepernicking’ is a move Kaepernick makes after scoring a touchdown. He did it twice during the playoff game against the Green Bay Packers. The move is a kiss of his right bicep.”