Category: Trademark Registration

Why Hall & Oates Purchased a Trademark Registration for Oatmeal Cereal

Daryl Hall and John Oates make beautiful music together. At least some people say that. Their last names also go together nicely to create an interesting phrase. People have played off the band’s name for decades, but when a cereal company began branding its granola as “Haulin’ Oats”, Hall and Oates decided they needed to put a stop to it and protect their brand name. But even though they have been known as Hall & Oates for years, they were forced to purchase a trademark registration to stop the cereal company. Continue reading “Why Hall & Oates Purchased a Trademark Registration for Oatmeal Cereal”

ACLU Supports the Washington Redskins Trademark

Although the team has decades of history, many people find the name of the Washington professional football team offensive. The Trademark Office sided with this opinion when it canceled the Washington Redskins’ trademark registration last summer. The Office cited federal trademark law’s prohibition on the registration of disparaging marks. In spite of this latest obstacle, however, the Redskins are fighting this ruling tooth and nail, and they now have a new supporter in their corner.

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Did Macy’s Allow Their Trademark to Go Abandoned

A few decades ago there used to be a lot more variety in department stores. Robinson’s-May, Marshall Field’s, and Meier and Frank used to dot the commercial landscape. But when these stores, along with several others, were acquired by Macy’s in 2005 and subsequently rebranded with the Macy’s masthead and brand name, the overall diversity of department stores took a hit. Now, after several years of dormancy, an enterprising individual is attempting to bring back some of these nostalgic brands and commercially exploit them, selling merchandise bearing the names and logos of these brands on his website. Macy’s has responded by suing for trademark infringement, claiming it is still the owner of these brands, but by shelving them for years, has Macy’s abandoned its trademark registration rights?

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Sriracha Sauce Trademark Lessons

Sriracha
Licensed by Creative Commons 2.0.

One of the most popular trends in the food industry over the last decade has been Sriracha. In case you still aren’t sure exactly what it is, Sriracha is a chili sauce made from chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. It originated in Thailand and was brought to the United States by Thai immigrants. One of these immigrants, David Tran, began selling the sauce under his Huy Fong Foods brand, which uses a distinctive rooster as its logo. Tran sought trademark registration on his rooster logo, but never on the name Sriracha itself. Now, as the popularity of the sauce has exploded, major players are bringing their own Sriracha sauce to the market, leaving one to wonder if Tran missed out on a huge commercial opportunity. Continue reading “Sriracha Sauce Trademark Lessons”

Hungry between Breakfast and Lunch? McDonald’s Files Trademark Application on McBrunch

Slumping sales have McDonald’s searching for something new and its recent trademark application may reveal what it has in store. In July, McDonald’s filed a trademark application on McBrunch. But does this mean we can count on an 11 AM menu? The fast-food giant is playing coy. When asked about its plans for the mark, the company stated it routinely files “intent-to-use” trademark applications and sometimes moves forward with them, and sometimes it doesn’t. So that leaves us with a resounding maybe.

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Here Comes Johnny Cleveland: Manziel Seeks Trademark Registration on New Nickname

Johnny Manziel has yet to play in a regular season NFL game for his new team, the Cleveland Browns, but judging by his recent trademark application he seems to have long term plans in town. The much hyped quarterback filed a trademark application on the name “Johnny Cleveland” in the class covering athletic apparel. While it remains to be seen whether Manziel will be successful on the field, he is no stranger to protecting his celebrity image. The Johnny Cleveland trademark application is Manziel’s 10th filing.

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ALS Association Files and Withdraws Trademark Application for “Ice Bucket Challenge”

If you have been on any type of social media in the last couple of months, you have undoubtedly seen or been called out for the “ice bucket challenge”. The rules of the challenge require a person challenged to either get doused with ice water and pay $10 to charity or refuse the ice shower and make a $100 charitable donation. Over the summer, the challenge became strongly associated with support for the disease ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). As the popularity of the challenge surged, the ALS Association considered whether a trademark application to protect the challenge was appropriate. After first deciding that the group should protect the mark, it has since reconsidered and withdrawn its trademark application.

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USC Football Coach Sarkisian Seeks Trademark Registration on His Name

504px-2008-0808-USC19-SteveSarkisian
Photo by Bobak Ha’Eri used by permission of a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

The business of college football is big. At a time when the upper level conferences are seeking to break away from the NCAA to consolidate TV revenue and power, the money surrounding college football has never been greater. And unlike professional sports where the elite players are the stars, in college football the most identifiable representative of a particular university is often the coach.

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No “Zilla” Confusion: Zillow Loses Opposition to LoanZilla Trademark Application

The online real estate database Zillow flexed its muscle recently with the announcement that it will acquire its competitor Trulia for $3.5 billion, giving it about 61% of total home listing internet searches. With such power Zillow is established as a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately for Zillow, its might doesn’t hold much influence over the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which recently rejected Zillow’s opposition to LoanZilla’s trademark application. The Office determined that there is no likelihood of confusion between Zillow’s registered trademark and the LoanZilla mark that LoanZilla applied to register.

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University of Arkansas Receives Sound Trademark Registration on “Woo Pig Sooie” Cheer

Sports chants seem to be all the rage lately. This summer, the US Men’s National Soccer Team chant “I Believe That We Will Win!” became a surprise hit at the World Cup tournament in Brazil. In addition, universities across the country are preparing for crowd chants and cheers as the college football season approaches. As the popularity of these chants increase, it’s not too surprising that people are starting to think about commercially protecting these cheers. Several groups are going about this through trademark registration.

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