Companies and individuals who invent a product or brand are understandably protective of their invention. To see how far a company will go to protect its brand name is evident in a trademark lawsuit from June of 2014. It involves an innovative 12 year old and a dirty cell phone screen. While most 12 year […]
Widerman Malek Law Blog
Do you need a trademark, a patent or a copyright?
Are you an inventor? Do you always try and come up with a better way to do something? Or maybe you are creative and enjoy writing or photography. Whatever your interest is, if you are creating something, tangible or intangible, you will want to protect it from others cashing in on your work. The problem […]
Terrible Trademark Trends
It’s likely at some point you’ve read something in a magazine or online that had a ™ by the name of a product. That is the symbol for trademark. A trademark is used to identify things that are produced or offered by a certain company, like the Adidas three strip trademark. Yes, stripes can be […]
Hot Dog! It’s a Handbag
The fashion phenomenon Louis Vuitton filed a lawsuit in 2007 for trademark dilution and copyright infringement. The case was formally known as Louis Vuitton Malletier v. Haute Diggity Dog. The suit was against the pet product company called Haute Diggity Dog. It was based in Nevada and created a product line called Chewy Vuitton. They […]
Trademark Infringement Litigation in Florida
Did you know that states have trademark infringement laws as well as the Federal government? If you’ve obtained a federal trademark, you can file an infringement suit under federal laws, but don’t forget your state’s laws as well. Although states offer some level of protection, federal protection of trademarks is more extensive. The first step […]
What is Intellectual Property?
If someone asked you about Intellectual Property, would you know what they were talking about? Would you think it was a smartly built house? Maybe one of those smart phones? You would be wrong if those were your guesses. Intellectual property has to do with creations of the mind. A painting by Van Gogh would […]
Language and IP rights
I bet when you are having a conversation with someone, during the conversation someone will use a popular phrase that has been associated with a product. Or it might be a line from a movie. Maybe a line from a book. You know someone came up with these phrases, can you be accused of IP […]
Four Biggest Trademark Myths
A trademark has to be registered before protection starts. Although registering a trademark is always a great idea, protection of the trademark actually begins when the symbol or name is first used on the product or service (simply using in marketing materials is not enough). The criteria for protection includes: the symbol must be in […]
Search Engine Optimization and Trademark Infringement
Search engine optimization is a crucial aspect of a company’s online business success. It is what makes them visible to their potential customers. Before we move forward into the case at hand, let’s further understand the definition of a trademark and what it protects. A trademark is a word, symbol, or phrase, used to identify […]
Is Virgin Olive Oil a Thing of the Past?
If Richard Branson has his way, it might be. Mr. Branson, the tremendously successful entrepreneur and chairman and founder of the Virgin Group has instituted a policy whereby the company’s lawyers aggressively target any company that uses the name Virgin in its own name, its marketing materials or within its URL. The Virgin group has […]
