Category Archives: Trademark

Indiana Patent Litigation Update – Masco Corporation of Indiana d/b/a Delta Faucet Company v. Watermark Designs, Ltd.

14 Monday Jun 2010

Posted by in Intellectual Property, Litigation, Patent, Southern District of Indiana, Trademark

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Court Case Number: 1:10-cv-0716-SEB-JMS

File Date: June 9, 2010

Plaintiff: Masco Corporation of Indiana d/b/a Delta Faucet Company

Plaintiff Counsel: R. Trevor Carter, Brandon Scott Judkins

Defendant: Watermark Designs, Ltd.

Cause(s): Patent Infringement, Trademark Infringement, False Designation of Origin and False Description of Fact, Unfair Competition, Common Law Trademark Infringement and False Advertising Unfair Competition

Court: Indiana Southern District Court

Judge: Sarah Evans Barker

Referred to: Jane Magnus-Stinson

The subject patent:

If you’d like a full text copy of the patent, leave a comment.

Happy World Intellectual Property Day!!!

26 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by in Copyright, Intellectual Property, Patent, Trade Secret, Trademark

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Most people are aware of intellectual property (IP) – of copyright, patents, industrial designs and trademarks.  But many still view these as business or legal concepts with little relevance to their own lives.  To address this gap, WIPO’s Member States decided in 2000 to designate an annual World Intellectual Property Day.  They chose April 26, the date on which the Convention establishing WIPO originally entered into force in 1970.

Each year, WIPO and its Member States celebrate World Intellectual Property Day with activities, events and campaigns. These seek to increase public understanding of what IP really means, and to demonstrate how the IP system fosters not only music, arts and entertainments, but also all the products and technological innovations that help to shape our world.

The aims of World IP Day are:

  • to raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life;
  • to increase understanding of how protecting IP rights helps promote creativity and innovation;
  • to celebrate creativity, and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of societies across the globe;
  • to encourage respect for the IP rights of others.

Greatest invention? The toilet snorkel.

For more info and suggested activities, see WIPO.

Indiana, LOVE artist, in Trademark Litigation

12 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by in Artists, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Trademark

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Pop artist Robert Indiana, best known for his LOVE statue (which was created in 1964 for a Christmas card for New York’s Museum of Modern Art) is being sued by a former business partner, John Gilbert.

Gilbert claims Indiana signed an agreement three years ago which allowed him to license sculptures and other pieces bearing the word “prem” (Sanskrit for “love”) in Indiana’s iconic style.

The deal apparently fell apart at some stage, leading to the cancellation of auctions at both Sotheby’s and Christie’s, and according to Gilbert’s breach of contract suit, kept him from “meeting [his] obligations under current contracts and jeopardized prospective contractual agreements with numerous third parties.”

Indiana, now 81 years old, has filed a counter-suit for alleged violations of trademark law, stating that he never signed an agreement.

For the full story, see The Gothamist.

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?

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!