Intellectual Property Law
New Matter SPRING 2014, Volume 39, Number 1
Content
- 2014 New Matter Author Submission Guidelines
- Case Comments
- Contents
- Copyright Interest Group
- De-risking the Cloud
- Entertainment and Sports Law Interest Group
- In-house Counsel Interest Group
- Inevitable Disclosures.
- Intellectual Property Section Executive Committee 2013-2014
- International Interest Group
- International Ip Developments
- Key Defense Strategies in Trade Secrets Cases
- Legislation Interest Group Report: Extract
- Letter from the Chair
- Letter from the Editor-in-Chief
- MCLE Self-Study Article
- Ninth Circuit Holds that Irreparable Harm No Longer Presumed in Trademark Cases
- Ninth Circuit Report
- Patent Interest Group
- Patentable Subject Matter, Abstract Ideas, Business Methods, and the Patent Eligibility Trilogy
- Technology, Internet and Privacy Interest Group
- The Importance of Being Earnest: Obtaining Copyright Registrations for 20th Century U.S. and Non-U.S. Photo Collections
- Trademark Interest Group
- Making a Name For Yourself: Trademark Registration Challenges
Making a Name For Yourself: Trademark Registration Challenges
Shelly Rosenfeld
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith
Everything from the Nike slogan, "just do it," to the name, "Coca-Cola," to the design of McDonald’s golden arches has trademark protection. A trademark is a word, name, or symbol that identifies a product in a way that distinguishes it from others, and having a widely recognized trademark is a tremendous asset. Another type of intellectual property, patent, which protects new and useful inventions, is actually issued from the same office, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). However, when it comes to the race to trademark a name versus obtaining a patent on products having a "racy" topic, they are not on equal footing. The law may not see an invention as patently offensive, but a trademark has to watch its words. In a time when businesses are looking to creatively grab a consumer’s attention, leaving your mark when it comes to vulgarity may actually mean leaving your mark, such that a product is unable to obtain trademark protection from the USPTO. Perhaps one of the strongest cases of "Fowl Language" was In re Fox.1