Category: Fun Facts

Fun Facts, Trademarks

Killer Trademarks


Knew He Was a Killer, First Time that I Saw Him

Eight Pro Bowls. Four First-Team All-Pro Awards. Three Second-Team All-Pro Awards. Two Super-Bowl Championships. One Podcast. We know all too well that Travis Kelce is one of the most accomplished football players in the NFL. From his accomplishments on field to his recent endeavors off-field like his podcast, New Heights, Travis Kelce has accomplished a lot in his first 34 years of life. But what’s gotten him to this level of recognition?

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Ashton Duke
Fun Facts, Patents, Trademarks

Are Crocs an endangered species? How an iconic company protects itself from poachers

Crocs and the Importance of their Intellectual Property

We all recognize the brand! Crocs has sold over 850 million pairs of their iconic shoes in over 85 different countries since 2002. Today, Crocs offers numerous models of shoes. However, the company’s success can be attributed to their original clog-style shoe named the “Classic Clog.” The Classic Clog is made from a resin-based material known as Croslite. This material allows the shoe to be durable while offering the user exceptional comfort. These features have led Crocs to market its clog design for use across a variety of applications including boating, gardening, hiking, and even hospital-use.

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Manuel Franco Pech
Copyrights, Moral Rights

Trouble in Vermont: A Case Study on Artists Moral Rights

The New York Times recently reported a story about Vermont Law School and a mural on their campus that gave rise to a copyright dispute.  The mural, painted by a white man, depicts slavery and the evils around it.  Many who have seen the mural objected to how African Americans were depicted.  Indeed, they found that the depictions were racist caricatures of black people.

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Bryan Bott
Fun Facts, Trade Secrets

Coca-Cola’s Clandestine Operation: The Story and the Rationale Behind the World’s Greatest Trade Secret

How well can you keep a secret? How about a secret that has been around for over a century and is one of the most sought after secrets in the world? Well, that’s the challenge for those who know the world-famous secret formula of the original Coca-Cola, better known as Coke. The company protects the formula by shrouding it in a great amount of secrecy. But, how did this formula come to be and how it is protected under intellectual property law?

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Brendan Zdunek
Copyrights, Fun Facts

“Scamilton” – Copyright Troubles in “Way-Off” Broadway Productions

When I was in high school, the annual musical was always a big deal. They would do renditions of famous productions such as Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music, and even Disney’s High School Musical. Although I had long since graduated from high school by the time my favorite musical Hamilton became popular, I noticed that there weren’t really productions of it outside of Broadway sponsored productions. Perhaps a recent controversy regarding the threat of a copyright lawsuit and an unauthorized Hamilton production at a Texas church helps explain why…

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Madeline Domenichella
Fun Facts, Trademarks

Tom Brady: The Greatest of All Time (at Trademarks)?

In March 2022, the greatest NFL quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, announced the end of his short-lived “retirement” and would be pursuing new business endeavors. Almost immediately, I saw ads on my Instagram feed for his new athletic clothing line called “BRADY”. What intrigued me the most was not the price of over $100 for a sweatshirt, but the superscript “TM” in the brand’s logo. As a student interested in intellectual property, this made me curious – what else has Brady trademarked?

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Madeline Domenichella
Copyrights, Fun Facts

AI and IP: Bananas, Bots, and Brains

As technology develops, the growing presence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within our lives becomes more prominent. AI predicts what we want to watch on TV, what food we want to eat, and what we want to type. The predictive abilities of AI have begun to even encroach upon the creative space. The use of AI as a tool in arts and science is not new, however. Scientists have used the residual processing power from video game consoles to assist AI in processing models for the potential folded structures of proteins. What is new however is the use of AI to create a new product with little human input entirely.

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Louay Meroueh
Fun Facts, Trademarks

Battle of the Band Names: Trademark Disputes Between Band Members

A good band name is an incredibly valuable commodity. Pearl Jam might not be one of the most enduring rock bands of all time had they kept their original plan of being named after a disgraced former NBA player, or one. An audience may not recognize individual band members, but when they perform under one famous name, fans flock to support the group.

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Andrew Sutherland