Last week, a trademark dispute between the National Park Service and DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc. resulted in the name change of many beloved landmarks in Yosemite National Park. So, how did it happen? The Concession Contracts DNC is a concessionaire that provides lodging, food and beverage, and entertainment services to tourists that […]
Category: Trademark Spotlight
Name of the Game: When is it “Fair” to Use Someone Else’s Trademark?
Let’s say you’re a huge fan of Coca Cola. You grew up drinking their soda, you were one of their first Facebook fans, you collect Coke bottles from around the world, and now you’ve decided to use their trademark on your own fan site. Before you get started on the design for your new fan […]
Periscope, Meerkat, and Vine – IP Infringers?
Between the Women’s World Cup and the U.S. Open golf tournament, we watched a lot of great competition this weekend and are looking forward to more this week. But while others may just see the brilliant play of Megan Rapinoe and Abby Wambach on the pitch or the victorious play of Justin Spieth on the […]
Where Are They Now? An Update on 4 Interesting IP Cases
We covered some mighty interesting IP cases last year that spanned the worlds of pop culture and sports – and we thought we’d take a few minutes to check in on four of those cases to find out where they are now. The Led Isn’t Out Yet Remember back when we told you Led Zeppelin […]
Social Media Trends & Hashtag Trademark Law
Over the past few months, there has been an interesting trend in trademark law around the world, with the creative use of social media technologies colliding with the creative use of the trademark registration system. Yes, I’m talking about #trademark mania, aka the rush to trademark hashtags. We can talk about the scruples of trademarking […]
7 Ways to Protect Your Startup’s Brand
You’ve spent a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to build your startup (and more friends-and-family money that you care to admit). One of the smartest things you can do at this point (besides hiring a great CFO), is protect your brand from a potential trademark infringers (and avoid a costly rebranding exercise). Here’s a […]