When is a Duck a Goose, or a Ham a Brand?
Every once in a while, the word “brand” appearing on product packaging surprises me, because my earlier understanding of the word preceding it spells generic, not brand. Just like the above. Shopping...
View ArticleHere’s to Calling the Kettle, Brand Too?
The teapot read my post from last week and is not only calling the kettle black, but brand too: So, we’ll have to see whether saying it’s so makes it so, after we stir the pot a bit, of course. Like...
View ArticleNominative Fair Use of Ride-Share Logos?
Earlier this year, we contemplated a suitable, accurate, and efficient generic name for the service category created by the highly-disruptive Uber brand: App-Based Ride Service. A visit to Chicago this...
View Article2017 Minnesota State Fair Comes to a Close
Well, it’s official, the 2017 Minnesota State Fair is almost in the books now, it came and went, without the longstanding Original Deep Fried Cheese Curds stand (notwithstanding a heroic #savethecurds...
View ArticleAre pretzel crisps crumbling into genericness?
Marketing types and legal types who review labels, be well advised to choose words used carefully. In other words, if you believe you own rights in Pretzel Crisps as a trademark, it’s not wise to use...
View Article“Hook and Loop” Meet Chutes and Ladders
Nearly everyone in the IP community is talking about the hilarious viral Velcro music video released last week. Hat tip to Patently-O, Martha, and Brett. The “behind the scenes” video is here. We’ve...
View ArticleWhat Are You Thinking, Coke Zero?
The above advertising billboard is plastered all over the Twin Cities at the moment, and it got me thinking, so here I am, once again, writing about Coke Zero, remember this can? Coke obtained a...
View ArticleSome Subtle Stories Make Great Trademarks
One of my passions is to find common and favorable ground between legal and marketing types. One of the readings during week three of Seth Godin’s intensive altMBA workshop reminded me of a great...
View ArticleAre You Leading With Buddha’s Hand Too?
Size and prominence of wording on business signs, product labels and hangtags will often emphasize brand signals. Yet, sometimes decisions are made to scream generic names instead. Never having seen...
View ArticleVelcro Sequel Sticks With “Hook and Loop”
On the heels of discussing trademark genericide through the Anything is Popsicle prism yesterday, let us turn our attention back to Velcro, who is at it again, this time making a genericide sequel. The...
View ArticleWhere’s the Beef? Trademark, That is . . . .
You never really need to wonder where the beef empanadas are, inside the display case, at least at Whole Foods, given the literal “beef” branding — visible on the edge of each outer dough shell. This...
View ArticleCoke Opening ZERO Genericness Floodgates?
We’ve been writing about the COKE ZERO trademark for nearly a decade now, noting in 2014: “[I]t will be worth watching to see whether the [TTAB] finds that ‘ZERO’ primarily means Coke or just a soft...
View ArticleNo What? ZERO Means 0 and 0 Means ZERO!
Taking our discussion about Coke Zero a little further than Monday’s discussion, is it any wonder that “zero” stands for nothing, none, nada, when it comes to calories, given icons like this one: In...
View ArticleBudweiser and Jim Beam on the Same Team
In April, news broke that two iconic alcohol brands were joining forces to create a remarkable new beer: Jim Beam Budweiser Copper Lager. Fruit of the joint labor is now available for consumption: The...
View ArticleIf Only HoneyCrisp Was an Apple Trademark
Yeah, we usually mean this Apple, when we spill digital ink, not today, instead the edible varieties: Hat tip to Erik Pelton who tweeted about the federal registration of LUDACRISP for fresh apples. We...
View ArticleLeaving Zero to the Imagination in Branding
We’ve been down this road before, some themes intersect, and trademark value is filtered out: The intersecting themes on tap for the day are: Zero, Branding, Trademarks, and Loss of Rights. ZEROWATER...
View ArticleSeth Godin Answers 12 DuetsBlog Questions
It all started here, nearly ten years ago now, with our inaugural DuetsBlog post called Dr. No and the Parade of Horribles. We used a Seth Godin post called Looking for Yes as our launchpad. The rest...
View ArticleThin to Lose?
One of my friends, when playing blackjack and asked to “cut the deck” after it has been shuffled, consistently admonishes without hesitation: “Thin to win.” Given the trademark story for today, you may...
View ArticleBrandless? Branded? Which is Better?
— Mark Prus, Principal Nameflash About two and a half years ago, Brandless was launched. The company sold “unbranded” household, personal care, baby, and pet products on the cheap and was viewed as a...
View ArticleIntroducing the (Wuhan) Gong Show?
Photo Credit: G. Baird The Gong Show was a quirky and absurdly amusing talent show from the 70s. It was created, produced, and hosted for a number of years by Chuck Barris. The gong was beaten by one...
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