Banksy Lost a Trademark Battle in the E.U.
Banksy Lost a Trademark Battle in the E.U. After Quotes From His Past Come Back to Haunt Him The famous and mysterious street artist Banksy lost a trademark battle with Full Color Black's greeting card company. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ruled that the trademark of one of Banksy's paintings is invalid.…
Is it vegan meat possible?
Is it vegan meat possible? A whopper? Watchdog bans ads for Burger King 'vegan-suitable' Rebel ASA says campaign implied burger did not contain beef or other animal products An ad campaign for Burger King's first plant-based burger has been banned by the advertising watchdog for implying it is suitable for vegans and vegetarians when it…
Jägermeister in Switzerland – does the trademark offend Christians?
Jägermeister logo does not offend Christians, court rules The logo for the popular alcoholic drink Jägermeister was found not to be religiously offensive by a Swiss court earlier this week. Judges in Switzerland rejected Monday a case brought by the country's Federal Institute of Intellectual Property demanding the emblem be restricted because the image was…
Trademark Enforcement
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies the source of goods of one party from those of another. A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. …
Dispute over Bratz Dolls Ownership Settled in Favor of MGA
In 2008, El-Segundo-based Mattel Inc., the world's No. 1 toy maker and owner of the Barbie empire, sued Van-Nuys-based MGA Entertainment Inc., which became well-known when introducing big-headed, pouty dolls named Bratz in 2001, for copyright infringement. The concept of Bratz was invented by Carter Bryant, a former employee at Mattel. Mattel argued that Bryant…
ECJ May Limit Rights of Advertisers to Use Names of Rivals as Keywords
Google and other search engine providers offer advertisers the opportunity to purchase advertising keywords corresponding to trademarks, often those owned by their competitors. As a consequence, a user who types in a brand name may be directed to the website of a company that offers competing products. One of the latest examples in a series…
Savvy Online Software Shoppers Not Misled by Rival's Use of Trademarked Keywords
A federal appeals court (9.Cir) has found that consumers were not likely to be misled by an online software advertiser that purchased a trademarked keyword of its competitor. In its ruling on March 8, 2011 an injunction that had barred Network Automation from buying the keyword, "ActiveBatch," was set aside. This word is the trademarked…
Sarah Palin Trademark
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's tried to trademark her name and that of her daughter Bristol. The reason? It was mentioned that "motivational speaking services" were to be provided by the two intended trademarks. They were filed on November 5, 2010 but questioned by a trademark examiner of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).…
Apple vs. Fujitsu: the new iPad battle
The hype goes on… but from a legal point of view: there are other issued then the question: how will this new toy look like. There is the the Copyright and the Trademark issue: 1. A company called Slate Computing registered for the iPad trademark in Canada in July. Similar trademark filings were made in…