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“The Rock” from WWE Superstar to Trademark Tycoon

The Rock recently negotiated to have the WWE assign all of the rights to his WWE intellectual property including branding components like his nickname, costume, voice, image and even insults used in the WWE. As part of acquiring the rights in his branding, he agreed to license it back to the WWE for the next 10 years.  

Trademark Office looses Challenge, Website Owner Gets Trademark

Trademarking Domain Names In a win for a business owner, the Supreme Court recently held that a company’s website which used a .com ending was protectable as a trademark, reversing the decision of the trademark office. Booking.com had attempted to register its domain, Booking.com and the USPTO rejected the application claiming it was generic.   The Read more about Trademark Office looses Challenge, Website Owner Gets Trademark[…]

Satan Lost his Shoes in the Latest Trademark Battle

Nike just settled its two-week old trademark battle against “Satan Shoes” seller MSCHF Product Studio Inc. MSCHF is a Brooklyn-based collective of artists and designers which creates artwork in novel and unique ways. For example, one of their projects included selling a virus infected laptop for $1.35 million, selling a dog collar which cursed when Read more about Satan Lost his Shoes in the Latest Trademark Battle[…]

Historical Trademarks are Good for Strong Branding

Strong Trademarks Creating a strong brand is an integral aspect of forming a new business. Businesses using historical trademarks help create a strong brand. A historical trademark is a brand which includes a historical term. Generally, the historical term in a historical trademark has some historical significance. A brand name which includes a famous person’s Read more about Historical Trademarks are Good for Strong Branding[…]

Trade Dress Protection

101 Series – Trademark Licensing and Franchising

As part of running a business, business owners occasionally need to license their trademarks.  Because trademark licenses typically require that the brand owner control use of their trademarks, the agreements require control over the mark.  However, if done wrongly, a trademark license can accidentally create a franchise.  In some cases a business owner wants to Read more about 101 Series – Trademark Licensing and Franchising[…]

Caution – Cease and Desist Letter

As the owner of intellectual property (a patent, copyright or trademark), you have invested significant time, energy and resources into protecting your patent, copyright or trademark.  What do you do if you find someone is violating your patent rights, for example?  Do you file a lawsuit immediately?  Do you contact the police?  Do you contact Read more about Caution – Cease and Desist Letter[…]

Registering a Trademark used in Commerce

Registering a Trademark Trademarks are protected under state, federal and common law based on proof of actual use of the particular word, phrase, style, design, color, smell or sound.  Registration provides several important benefits, including the ability to obtain monetary damages and certain presumptions after a period of time on the principal registry. Federal registration Read more about Registering a Trademark used in Commerce[…]