An overlooked aspect of the marijuana legalization movement is its effect upon research and use of psychedelic substances such as psilocybin and LSD. Both substances are now subject of legitimate therapeutic research with renewed interest in potential legalization. Who would have guessed? Now comes along an enterprising entrepreneur and files a trademark application for the term PSILOCYBIN, which is […]
Trademark
“Reverse Confusion”: Don’t Be Confused
October 2, 2023
Trademark
Whether you are a regular reader of our newsletter or not, you should be familiar with the concept of “trademark infringement.” That’s when a business uses a trademark that is the same as or similar to that of another business, which causes confusion among consumers over the source of the goods or services. Typically, this involves […]
Ask Dr. Copyright © About Genericized Trademarks
September 25, 2023
Ask Dr. Copyright, Trademark
Dear Doc: I know this is not strictly a copyright question, but it seems to me that I now spend my time Zooming, having Zooms, meeting friends for Zoomtails, Zoomshipping, and so forth. I even Zoom when I am on some other system, like FaceTime. Is Zoom in legal trouble here? Signed,Generically Worried Dear GW: […]
Blowing Your Mind and Your Trademark!
September 18, 2023
Trademark
Last month we wrote about a recent registration of the term PSILOCYBIN for educational materials related to psychoactive plants. The point of our article was that applying for generic terms as trademarks is not the most effective strategy for developing a distinctive brand. Now, sadly, a flurry of coronavirus-related trademark applications raises similar concerns. In a […]
Cheese and Chips: On the Vanguard of Quality Control
September 14, 2023
Intellectual Property, Trademark
Champagne is from the Champagne region of France, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Prosciutto di Parma ham from the Parma region of Italy, Toscano olive oil from Tuscany, and Roquefort cheese from the region of the same name in France. Then there is Irish Whiskey, Darjeeling tea, Florida oranges, Idaho potatoes, Vidalia onions, Washington State apples, […]
It’s Not the 1960’s Anymore – ZKITTLEZ
September 11, 2023
Trademark
Terphogz simply helped itself to Wrigley’s famous SKITTLES Marks, picking “ZKITTLEZ” as the name of its drugs, knocking off Wrigley’s federally registered TASTE THE RAINBOW slogan, and even copying Wrigley’s S logo. Terphogz appears to be a legitimate California company. Why would it believe that it could avoid a lawsuit by marketing a knockoff of […]
Counterfeiters On Your Property? Don’t Turn a Blind Eye
September 4, 2023
Trademark
Ever been approached by an enterprising salesperson with a coat full of fake Rolex watches? It’s a risky business. The FBI, federal marshals, customs officials and brand owners may be involved in enforcing trademark and anti-counterfeiting laws. Did you know that not only sellers but their landlords may be liable? Under a theory of contributory […]
X-treme Rebranding
August 3, 2023
Trademark
The big rebranding news this month is Elon Musk’s renaming Twitter to, yes, you probably know already, X. You may ask, can you even file a trademark registration for a single letter? The answer is definitely “yes” so long as the mark is distinctive for the class of goods and services it is registered to identify. Just […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has rendered only 15 trademark opinions since 1924. So, it is always noteworthy when the Court considers a trademark case. This term, as we anticipated, the Court rendered its decision in the Jack Daniel’s trademark infringement case. We’ve been following this case since 2020 so you may recall the facts but here’s a refresher: VIP Products (“VIP”) sells, […]
Liberate TACO TUESDAY! Who Owns It Anyway?
June 8, 2023
Trademark, Uncategorized
Given the weighty domestic and foreign news of the day, trademark wars shouldn’t be capturing as much media attention as has the recent kerfuffle over the mark “TACO TUESDAY.” But it has. If you haven’t heard, Taco Bell, LeBron James, and some restaurant establishments are fighting over ownership of the trademark rights to TACO TUESDAY. […]