Trade Dress, Trademarks

What Could Cookies and Dresses Have in Common…? Trade Dress!

Picture this – you walk into a new bakery. The smells hit you from every direction. You see the different kinds of frosting oozing out of the glass case showing off all the new goodies. Where could you possibly be you might wonder… You’re at Crumbl Cookies! Crumbl is a new-ish national cookie franchise that sells its unique, freshly baked, rotating flavored cookies out of most big cities around the country. Emphasis on the *unique* part.

Continue reading “What Could Cookies and Dresses Have in Common…? Trade Dress!”

Alexandra Angyalosy
Copyrights

Is Disney Losing Mickey Mouse Because of Copyright Law?

When I first read the headline to this New York Times article, “Mickey’s Copyright Adventure: Early Disney Creation Will Soon Be Public Property,” I thought that Mickey Mouse would soon lose its copyright and enter the public domain. If Mickey Mouse were to enter the public domain, artists could use Mickey without fear of a copyright infringement lawsuit. I learned from an IP survey course … Continue reading Is Disney Losing Mickey Mouse Because of Copyright Law?

Isabella Field
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.

Continue reading “Are Crocs an endangered species? How an iconic company protects itself from poachers”

Manuel Franco Pech
Trademarks

Bad Spaniels: Free Speech, Parody, or Blatant Infringement?

Trademark Tug of War

A dispute between a dog toy manufacturer and Jack Daniels recently reached the Supreme Court. The dispute is about a new toy called “Bad Spaniel” that parodies the shape and look of the iconic Jack Daniels Bottle. did the Court side with Jack Daniels, or did the bad dog have its day?

Jack Daniels is an established whiskey brand sold in stores and bars nationwide. Bad Spaniel is a dog toy sold by VIP Products LLC that looks similar to the alcohol products sold by Jack Daniels.

The dog toy is in the shape of a Jack Daniels whiskey bottle. A label “Bad Spaniels” appears where the whiskey label would normally be placed. The label also lists “The Old No. 2 on your Tennessee Carpet” below the brand name. This is similar to the Jack Daniels brand Old No. 7 which lists the product name and “Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey” on the front label. The dog toy is a parody of the Jack Daniels bottle used to “make fun” of the famous bottle and brand. Continue reading “Bad Spaniels: Free Speech, Parody, or Blatant Infringement?”

Jacob Taylor
Copyrights

Finding a Fix for TDM’s Issues

For all the good copyright law does to protect the creative works of authors, it causes problems for Text and Data Mining (TDM) by researchers and AI. TDM is a tool that allows computers to “read” and analyze large amounts of text or data. As I explained in Part 1 of this post, TDM is likely copyright infringement under current U.S. law. However, the initial copyright infringement isn’t the only issue. Continue reading “Finding a Fix for TDM’s Issues”

Connor Druhan
Trademarks

Harry’s Style: Trademark Infringement Against Counterfeit Sellers

Harry Styles might be the world’s biggest pop star. Styles began his musical career in 2010 as a member of the band One Direction, and he is now one of the most popular solo artists in the world. At February’s GRAMMY Awards, Styles’s “Harry’s House” won Album Of The Year, arguably the most significant award at the show. Styles is known not only for his … Continue reading Harry’s Style: Trademark Infringement Against Counterfeit Sellers

Landon Wilneff
Why Loyola

To Be or Not To Be…A Copyright Infringer? Jeff Koons & My Journey to IP

When parents send their kids off to college, they often wish for them to grow as people, have fun, and (perhaps most importantly) major in something that will get them a job. Neuroscience, data science, and finance are the coveted majors – not theatre, communications, or (my personal favorite) art history. I pursued an art history minor in undergrad where I was first exposed to … Continue reading To Be or Not To Be…A Copyright Infringer? Jeff Koons & My Journey to IP

Meredith Wickenheiser
Why Loyola

An Unexpected Journey From Healthcare to IP

“Study what interests you and the rest will work itself out” As a high achieving high school student, choosing a college major felt like choosing a career. I remember placing so much pressure on picking my college of study. Then I got some very simple advice from my career counselor at the time. She said, “study what interests you and the rest will work itself … Continue reading An Unexpected Journey From Healthcare to IP

Elizabeth Schrieber
Trademarks

A Record Store Versus a Boy Band: My Experience on Loyola’s IP Moot Court Team

Even before starting law school at Loyola, I knew that I wanted to practice intellectual property (IP) law. IP law involves both transactional law and litigation. While transactional law focuses on the creation and review of documents and contracts, litigation focuses on resolving disputes, often in a courtroom setting. While I have always been interested in IP transactional law, I also saw the value of understanding litigation. Understanding litigation can be key to a lawyer’s transactional practice. A transactional lawyer can learn how to better draft documents and contracts so that a dispute (hopefully!) never arises and litigation is not needed. Continue reading “A Record Store Versus a Boy Band: My Experience on Loyola’s IP Moot Court Team”

Kristen Salas Mationg