Last night we continued on the wine trail and visited Niagara Falls Ontario Canada convention center for the Niagara Food & Wine Expo. Attorney Barbara Piazza and her spouse and my wife and I had a great night and tasted a variety of vintages. There were wineries from local Canadian regions and wines from all … Continue Reading
Ordinarily you hear news about purses bearing counterfeit trademarks being passed off as original. But intellectual property isn’t the only thing has been counterfeited recently. Of the more celebrated trials over counterfeit wine is continuing in a federal courthouse in Manhattan this week. The lawsuit was brought against Eric Greenberg by William I. Koch, the … Continue Reading
Protect your wine and label before the glasses are filled and put on the table. Throughout the history of our civilization wine has been associated with rituals and regions across the globe. The aromas, savors and spirits of wine are as vast and varied as the grapes, the growers, and wineries that produce, bottle and … Continue Reading
I just put my most recent Ask the Patent Attorney video up on YouTube about what makes a strong trademark. When choosing a trademark a major factor to consider is distinctiveness. In the video (see below) we discuss the difference between a fanciful, arbitrary, suggestive, descriptive and generic mark. Too bad True Fit Corporation didn’t watch a similar video before choosing their name. … Continue Reading
As a trademark attorney in Buffalo, New York I pay particular attention as to how trademarks are used in advertisements and news articles. Today I spotted the trademark for the National Buffalo Wing Festival® displayed on the cover of the Buffalo News "Gusto". The Gusto is the entertainment section of the Buffalo News that comes … Continue Reading
Recently the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a warning to all trademark applicants regarding “Non-USPTO Solicitations that Resemble Official USPTO Communications.” The USPTO warned that companies not affiliated with the USPTO were using the USPTO database to find and locate new trademark applicants and are sending out letters that resemble an official … Continue Reading
A synthetic cannabis called Cush produced by "Sky Hi Blends" in Arizona is now sold at some delis and convenience stores in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo city officials want it off the shelves. The Dr. Pepper Snapple Group own Orange Crush and think it is trademark infringement. They demand that the name and logo is … Continue Reading
One of the things I enjoy about law blogging is my opportunity to interview thought leaders in the intellectual property arena. Recently I had the opportunity to be introduced to Brian Wagner who is a co-founder of a company called "Packaging & Technology Integrated Solutions"(PTIS). PTIS is a group of “Global Management and Packaging Consultants.” … Continue Reading
I am a Buffalo attorney who focuses on intellectual property law and I rarely get an opportunity to discuss fashion branding with other intellectual property attorneys. However recently I needed to find a Canadian attorney to help me file a trademark assignment for one of my clients in Canada, and I enlisted the help of … Continue Reading
The 2011 National Trademark Expo will be held at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia on Friday, October 14th, and Saturday, October 15th. The free two-day event is intended to educate the public about the importance of trademarks in the global marketplace. Exhibitors are invited to showcase their trademarks … Continue Reading
When starting a new business one of the first things that needs to be done is to create a brand. Branding establishes the first impression that your target audience has of your business. Existing businesses sometimes need to re-create their brand. I once asked an attorney "why does the public perceive you as the best … Continue Reading
Recently I wrote a blog post regarding the alleged infringement of the trademark IHOP. Now the national drugstore chain Walgreens believes that the Wegmans logo looks too much like the Walgreens registered trademark (.PDF). So they have opposed Wegmans new trademark registration application (.PDF) and filed a federal lawsuit claiming infringement. Take a look at … Continue Reading
Today is Christopher Columbus Day and if you remember he invented America. No that’s not right… he discovered America. Of course he thought he landed in India and we’ve been mistakenly calling Native Americans Indians ever since and today we celebrate his mistake. It used to be you would plant a flag into the ground … Continue Reading
The International House of Pancakes has a filed (.PDF) a trademark lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against a Kansas City, Missouri based religious group that calls itself the International House of Prayer over the acronym "IHOP." The pancake house is going after the church group for trademark dilution and trademark infringement. If … Continue Reading
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is hosting the 2010 National Trademark Expo. The deadline for trademark owners to apply for exhibit space at the Trademark Expo has been extended to August 16. Now is your chance to showcase the vital role trademarks have played in your business. The National Trademark Expo focuses … Continue Reading
Congratulations to Spain for winning the World Cup in soccer. But the big money winner is the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) for the marketing of the event. The Hollywood Reporter said that 700 million people worldwide watched the World Cup 2010 yesterday. About 24 million Americans watched Spain win the World Cup over … Continue Reading
How does a trademark benefit your company? Every one knows the value of a name. I wonder what the value of the Nike name and swoosh design is versus all the inventory and assets the company owns. I would guess the name has more value. But what are the benefits of registering the trademark? Here … Continue Reading
What Inventors Need to Know… Tom Demitry is an entrepreneur, an inventor, a salesman, a marketer, a man of ideas and as he will tell you first and foremost a father and a man of God. He is constantly coming up with new ideas and new ways to reinvent himself. His passion and enthusiasm are … Continue Reading
How do you protect your intellectual property? What is intellectual property? Is a special sandwich that you make better than anybody else intellectual property? Imagine you are the owner of a new restaurant who has created a new edible masterpiece. And subsequently, to your surprise, you discover that a copycat sandwich is being made across … Continue Reading
The Inventor’s Bible by Ronald L. Docie Sr. LoTempio Law Blog Book Review About the book The Inventor’s Biible by Ronald L. Docie Sr., includes a workbook to help an inventor take an idea from conception to the distribution of a product. The book touches on marketing, licensing, and selling an invention. The book reviews … Continue Reading
What inventors need to know… “Does the product infringe on a patent?” and “Should a patent application be filed?” are questions a product developer would want answered before going forward with manufacturing, marketing and distributing a product. But what makes a product a long term profit generator? "Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine … Continue Reading
