Like many other companies, electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors is looking to expand into China. It may have to put its plans on hold though due to trademark registration problems. In 2009, an opportunistic Chinese businessman, Zhan Baosheng, filed a trademark application with the Chinese trademark office covering the mark TESLA in 12 different classes, including cars and auto parts. The trademark application was ultimately granted giving Baosheng a trademark registration for the mark TESLA. So when Tesla filed its Chinese trademark application, the application was rejected, with the Chinese trademark office citing Baosheng’s earlier trademark registration. So, for the time being, Tesla has no legal right to commercially use its TESLA mark in China, which is a big problem for the car company looking to take advantage of the exploding Chinese demand for automobiles.
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As merchandisers get ready to sell their Super Bowl XLVII wares, one term is off the table. Colin Kaepernick, the celebrated quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers has filed a trademark application to register a trademark for the term “Kaepernicking.” While this may not be a household word yet (or… ever), fans of 49ers football are familiar with Kaepernick’s bicep-kissing victory dance – some would call it his trademark dance. Combine that with the super profit potential of Super Bowl memorabilia and you get Kaepernick’s aspiration for a 
The success of Apple’s products has spawned many imitators worldwide. Not too long ago, an entire counterfeit Apple store was identified in China. Apple has also fought several large patent infringement suits with competitors like Samsung over whether Samsung ripped off some of Apple’s exclusive technology. With the enormous popularity of Apple’s brand, this kind of copying is inevitable. But in a surprising trademark registration twist, the copycat role may very well be reversed for Apple in Brazil.
Trademark cases raise lots of interesting legal issues. Sometimes they also simply raise interesting stories. Everyone is a consumer in one form or another, so we usually connect with or have an interest in the issues being litigated. And there are many wild ideas for registering a trademark. For example, a recent court case having the flair of InStyle or People Magazine involves a fight between two high fashion designers over color and incredibly expensive shoe styles. The case raises an interesting trademark issue and leaves one to wonder how crazy the outfits worn to court were.
Trademarks are typically associated with names, symbols, or phrases. Nike’s name, swoosh logo, and slogan “Just Do It” are familiar examples of these three categories. One less common, but equally important, category of a trademark that may be registered, at least in the U.S., is the three-dimensional trademark. Three-dimensional trademarks often comprise nonfunctional shapes or three-dimensional designs of products or product packaging. It is also sometimes referred to as a form of “
With the amount of money spent on marketing, it’s a pretty good bet that nearly every adult in the United States is familiar with the Budweiser trademark for beer. But it may be a surprise to learn that the beer brewed by Anheuser-Busch is not the only beer marketed under the trademark Budweiser. A small brewer in the Czech Republic also has trademark rights to the name Budweiser and Anheuser-Busch is not happy about it. (Click 
Texas A&M’s red-hot freshman quarterback, Johnny Manziel, has lit up college football this year. He just took home the Heisman Trophy, which recognizes the nation’s most outstanding college football player – the first freshman ever to receive the honor. During this past season, his running and passing ability helped him shatter all sorts of offensive records on the field. Now off the field, he’s looking to play a little defense by 
Thinking about using the iconic Hollywood sign as a way to promote your business? Better think again. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce not only owns a trademark registration for the landmark sign, but owns about a half a dozen trademark registrations relating to the Hollywood icon. Recently, a New York ad agency called “The Brooklyn Brotherss” altered a photo of the Hollywood sign to include the letters BB in front of the word Hollywood in an effort to promote their new venture. (
In a recent blog post, we discussed The Hobbit producers’ trademark dispute with Global Asylum, the makers of the upcoming mockbuster movie “Age of the Hobbits”. The Hobbit producers claim that Asylum’s reference to hobbits in their movie title infringes rights under a trademark registration. Asylum countered claiming that the term hobbits refer to a recently discovered human sub-species and as such, they are entitled to use the term under the legal doctrine of fair use. In an effort to bolster their infringement position, The Hobbit producers have commissioned an interesting study aimed at showing a likelihood of confusion, which is one of the legal requirements to establish trademark infringement. (For more details on the story, see The Hollywood Reporter article by clicking here. story here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/hobbit-trademark-lawsuit-producers-enlist-394685).