Category Archives: Just for Fun

Jimmy Buffett files trademark application for TIGER BLOOD

18 Friday Mar 2011

Posted by in Entertainment Law, Intellectual Property, Just for Fun, Trademark

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Quick…everybody file a trademark application for TIGER BLOOD!

That’s the tune Jimmy Buffett is singing as he just filed an application to protect the trademark (which Charlie Sheen recently popularized) in connection with “Vodka” and “Energy Drinks”. But Jimmy isn’t the only one covering that tune as several others have also filed applications in the past few weeks.

Now the previous owner of TIGERS BLOOD (…it isn’t Charlie Sheen) faces a trademark onslaught of nearly epic proportion. Has a trademark ever had to survive the combined cumulative dilutive and tarnishing effects of Charlie Sheen, dietary supplements and now the boozy bard of Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett? Which, if any, of the new trademark applications will survive to registration? And how long until Charlie Sheen himself files an application?

Here’s a review of the brief yet spectacular trademark history of TIGER BLOOD:

TIGERS BLOOD – Registered: June 3, 2008  Date of First Use: March 5, 2007

IC 032. Syrups for making soft drinks [Owner: Stuart K. McLaren]

TIGER’S BLOOD – Registered: August 31, 2010  Date of First Use: January 4, 2010

IC 034. Tobacco [Social Smoke, Inc]

TIGERBLOOD – Filed March 3, 2011  Date of First Use: March 2, 2011

IC 005. Dietary supplemental drinks, Meal replacement and dietary supplement drink mixes, Dietary supplemental drinks in the nature of vitamin and mineral beverages, Highly caffeinated energy pills

IC 025. Clothing, apparel, sneakers, athletic wear, t shirts. [Michael M. Heyward]

TIGER BLOOD – Filed March 6, 2011  Date of First Use: Intent to Use (ITU)

IC 005. Nutritional Supplements in liquid form and non-liquid form that relieve or prevent fatigue. Dietary Supplements in liquid form and non-liquid form that relieve or prevent fatigue [Crebit LLC]

TIGER BLOOD – Filed March 6, 2011  Date of First Use: ITU

IC 025. Clothing, Namely, Jackets, overcoats, sweaters, T-shirts, shirts, pants, caps, scarfs, belts, and shoes [Moneyworks, Inc.]

TIGER BLOOD – Filed March 7, 2011   Date of First Use: March 3, 2011

IC 005. Dietary and nutritional supplements; Dietary food supplements; Dietary supplemental drinks; Dietary supplements for human consumption; Liquid nutritional supplement. [Harcos, LLC]

TIGER BLOOD – Filed March 8, 2011  Date of First Use: ITU

IC 005. Dietary and nutritional supplements [Advanced Health Sciences, Inc.]

TIGERBLOOD – Filed March 8, 2011  Date of First Use: ITU

IC 032. Beauty beverages, namely, fruit juices and energy drinks containing nutritional supplements; Concentrates and powders used in the preparation of energy drinks and fruit-flavored beverages; Concentrates, syrups or powders used in the preparation of sports and energy drinks; Energy drinks; Non-alcoholic drinks, namely, energy shots; Sports drinks, namely, energy drinks [Michael J. Mueller, Jacquelyn A. Fritz AKA JJ Fritz, Pablo Cerrilla-Benet AKA Pablo Cerrilla, Waldo M. Abbot AKA Mack Abbot]

TIGER BLOOD – Filed March 10, 2011  Date of First Use: January 3, 2011

IC 025. Hooded sweat shirts; Short-sleeved or long-sleeved t-shirts. [Will Thompson]

TIGER BLOOD TV – Filed March 12, 2011  Date of First Use: March 4, 2011

IC 041. Providing a website for entertainment purposes where users can view and post audio, video, prose and images featuring content related to news, cultural events, pop-culture, arts, music, comedy and sports. [Kimberly A. Arnold, Joel M. Moore]

Never one to miss a beat, even Ol’ Parrothead himself is getting in on the Tiger Blood act. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a new “Tiger Blood” single on the radio before the end of Spring Break.

TIGER BLOOD – Filed March 12, 2011  Date of First Use: ITU

IC 033. Vodka [Margaritaville Enterprises, LLC]

TIGER BLOOD – Filed March 12, 2011  Date of First Use: ITU

IC 032. Energy drinks [Margaritaville Enterprises, LLC]

It turns out that someone at Margaritaville Enterprises must get drunk on filing trademark applications…463 filed so far!

Are there additional TIGER BLOOD applications to come or is this the end of the trend? I know the trademark attorneys for the two registered marks will need to be vigilant in the upcoming weeks. I’ll keep you updated.

Superhero Law Debated on New Blog

21 Tuesday Dec 2010

Posted by in Bloggers, Copyright, Entertainment Law, Intellectual Property, Just for Fun, Trademark, What I'm Reading

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There’s a fun new blog, Law and the Multiverse, that applies real world law to comic book scenarios. In their words:

If there’s one thing comic book nerds like doing it’s over-thinking the smallest details.  Here we turn our attention to the hypothetical legal ramifications of comic book tropes, characters, and powers.  Just a few examples: Are mutants a protected class?  Who foots the bill when a hero damages property while fighting a villain?  What happens legally when a character comes back from the dead?

The blog touches on many different areas of law, including intellectual property. Here is an excerpt:

In the real world comic book characters and their likenesses have been made into toys, video games, movies, television shows, lunchboxes, bed sheets, and innumerable other things. All of these secondary uses are mediated through intellectual property rights, particularly copyright and trademark rights. But if Superman were a real person, how might the situation be different? Could just anyone slap his image or iconic S shield on a lunchbox? What about uses that suggest that Superman endorses a product or service? (“Try Metropolis Brewery Beer, the choice of the Man of Steel!”) Or worse, what about revealing a superhero’s secret identity?

Their latest post explores a favorite topic of the Indiana Intellectual Property Blog, privacy rights:

From a superhero’s point of view, the main issues here are intrusion into his or her secret identity and secret headquarters, if applicable.  The latter case is squarely within the scope of the tort (physical intrusion into a home or office is a classic example of the tort), so let’s focus on the issue of secret identity.  In particular, does a superhero’s secret identity fall under the scope of the second element?  And when we say “reasonable person” do we mean a reasonable regular person or a reasonable superhero, or does it matter?

The answer to the first question is probably yes.  Courts have held that the right to privacy includes psychological & emotional solitude and the intrusion can occur in a public place.  See, e.g., Phillips v. Smalley Maintenance Svcs, Inc., 435 So.2d 705, 711 (Ala. 1983) (holding “one’s emotional sanctum is certainly due the same expectations of privacy as one’s physical environment.” and “the ‘wrongful intrusion’ privacy violation can occur in a public place, when the matter intruded upon is of a sufficiently personal nature”).  As the definition states, the intrusion need not be directly physical and can include demands and threats.  Phillips, 435 So.2d at 711.

For the full post and to explore other areas of law, visit Law and the Multiverse.  One of the blog authors is a recent grad of Notre Dame Law School.  I’m looking forward to reading the future posts on copyright and trademark.

All the Good Band Names are Taken

24 Wednesday Feb 2010

Posted by in Intellectual Property, Just for Fun, Musicians, Trademark

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The Wall Street Journal has a nice article re: band names and trademark law.

When former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones recently formed a new rock band, the music flowed easily. The struggle: inventing a name for the group.

Between takes in a recording studio, Mr. Jones brainstormed about names with his new band mates, including former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, then checked them online. Their first choice, Caligula, turned up at least seven acts named after the decadent Roman emperor, including a defunct techno outfit from Australia. Eventually the rockers decided on Them Crooked Vultures. The words held no special meaning.

“Every other name is taken,” Mr. Jones explains. “Think of a great band name and Google it, and you’ll find a French-Canadian jam band with a MySpace page.”

For the full article, click here.

Here’s my list of greatest band names:

5. The Grateful Dead

4. Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem

3. BIG BLUE WHALE

2. Black Sabbath

1. The Band

What are your favorite band names?

Embracing Social Media: What, How, Why Not. Part III – Legalities of Web 3.0 – TechPoint Event 3/5/10

22 Monday Feb 2010

Posted by in Bloggers, Indiana, Intellectual Property, Just for Fun, Tech Developments

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Navigating the legal waters of advertising and marketing can be difficult task alone when utilizing traditional options, but how does this change when marketing within the digital world? In our third session of this series, we look at the many legal issues surrounding social media and online marketing.

Speakers:

David Wong, Attorney, Barnes & Thornburg
Mary E. Innis, Partner/Chair of the Advertising & Marketing Practices Group, Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Date: March 5, 2010

8:00 a.m. Registration and continental breakfast
8:30 – 9:30 a.m. Presentation

Click here to register.

Hope to see you there!

NFL to allow Super Bowl in Churches?

25 Monday Jan 2010

Posted by in Copyright, Indiana, Intellectual Property, Just for Fun, Trademark

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The last time Peyton Manning was leading the Indianapolis Colts on a championship run, the NFL clamped down on the ability to watch the big game in churches. The NFL sent letters to churches informing them that airing the game would be a violation of the NFL’s copyright and trademark rights. However, last year the NFL called a reverse and allowed viewing in churches under certain conditions.

So what’s the NFL’s policy this year? Unless we hear otherwise, we have to assume that the NFL is sticking to last year’s policy that churches can air the Super Bowl without violating copyright laws. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something that would suggest otherwise.

So start planning those parties…Go Colts!