Tag: Trademarks

Fun Facts

Trademark Trivia: Sports Edition!

Which of the following is NOT a federally registered trademark?

  1. “Taco Tuesday,” as in LeBron James’s social media celebrations of eating tacos on Tuesdays
  2. “Three-peat,” as in winning three consecutive championships
  3. Blue athletic turf, as in Boise State’s famous blue and orange football field
  4. “Fear the Brow,” as in NBA star Anthony Davis’s very distinct unibrow

Correct Answer: A!

Once you know a little more about trademarks and how individuals and companies register them, the answer should make a lot more sense. Let’s start there!

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avatarMaggie DePoy
Copyrights, IP - From Theory to Practice

Stealing Settlers? How IP factors into Online Games

Can Intellectual Property Protect Board Games?

I love board games and have been playing a lot of Settlers of Catan online during the pandemic. I use a site called colonist.io, which is an offshoot, unaffiliated version of the Settlers of Catan game. During my Intellectual Property (IP) class with Professor Ho earlier this year, I wondered how IP rights extend to board games. When we tend to think of IP, we might think of cool technological inventions for patents or Disney’s Mickey Mouse for copyright. IP generally relates to protecting human created products, names, and expressions, and can give its owner rights to protect these.

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avatarAriel Katz
Behind the Scenes

Justice for Social Movement Trademarks

Thousands of people have taken to the streets, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, to demand justice and equal treatment for Black Americans after the murder of George Floyd. Throughout these protests, the slogan “Black Lives Matter” is often used by those condemning the treatment of Black Americans at the hands of police officers around the country. Is this phrase a trademark, and if it is, who owns it? Do trademark principles allow the Black Lives Matter Foundation, an entity associated with the movement, to have a trademark in phrases such as “Black Lives Matter” so that they can prevent other entities from commercially profiting from using it?

Let’s start by discussing some trademark principles.

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avatarLily Liermann
IP - From Theory to Practice

A Tale of Two Donut Shops: “Dunking” Into Trademark Troubles

IP Here, IP There…IP Everywhere   

IP is everywhere and affects everyone.  This principle was reinforced when I took Intellectual Property Law with Professor Ho during the Fall 2018 semester.  We regularly had examples in class regarding the many ways IP intersects with everyday life, even including a copyright infringement case involving Kanye West.  There were more examples at the end of the semester when students presented real and/or realistic applications of IP law.  I especially enjoyed working on my final presentation with Jessica Fenton involving a local mom-and-pop donut shop called “Dunk Donuts.”  If you’re thinking that sounds like Dunkin’ Donuts, so were we—and wondering whether this Oak Park donut shop might be liable to the national donut chain.

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avatarCarrie Park
Behind the Scenes

“Big Mac” Trademark Gets Burned In Europe

Chicago-based, fast-food powerhouse McDonald’s has locations in over 100 countries.  Accordingly, it is difficult nowadays to find people in the world that are not familiar with the Big Mac, a McDonald’s staple since 1967.  Regardless of which language a McDonald’s menu is displayed, consumers relate the word “Big Mac” to the burger’s signature structure: two all-beef patties, “special sauce,” American cheese, lettuce, pickles, and onion, all served in a three-part sesame seed bun.

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avatarMichael Sanko