Do You REALLY Own Your Business Name?

You put a great deal of effort into choosing the perfect name for your business. You registered the business with the Secretary of State in every state in which you operate. That’s all you need to own your business name, right? Wrong.

Riffs of Risk: Are you using a “personal” account for your business on social media?

The pitfalls of using music on your personal account to promote your business, and how to avoid them.

Petrifying Patents – Creepy Candy Carriers

The lighter side of Halloween-themed patents, explored through patents for pumpkin-shaped candy carriers. You’ll never look at trick-or-treating the same way again! Mwahahahaha!

Petrifying Patents – Devilish Design Patents

I’m just going to talk about design patents a bit and show some Halloween and horror-related design patents, which are just for how things look.

Can You Copyright or Trademark a Logo Designed by AI?

The legal world is buzzing about AI and its use for all kinds of things, including generating logos, text, and other things people would normally want to register for copyright or trademark protection. I’m particularly nerding out over these issues, because my master’s degree project involved training of artificial intelligence systems.

There’s no doubt AI is incredibly useful for things like this, though there is still no substitute for a real human author or artist. But what rights do you have to what it create for you? Keep in mind the generators are trained on existing material, including things that are protected by copyright, trademark registration, and patents. There haven’t been a lot of court decisions on this precise topic yet, so the law is not completely settled, but there are some certainties and principles of law that can guide you.

Brand Security: Exclusive Rights and Protection Provided by Trademark Registration

What is the difference in trademark rights provided by no registration, state registration, and federal registration? Learn why federal registration is essential for having the strongest trademark rights possible.

Trademark Tales of Terror: Evil Dead – Not Just a Reference to Failed Trademarks

In this episode, we’re going to plunge into the eerie and tumultuous world of trademark lawsuits surrounding the iconic “Evil Dead” film franchise. One of the things you have to do when you have a trademark is police it, which means that you have to take action to stop infringement by other parties. If you don’t, you can actually start to lose some of your rights.

Trademark Tales of Terror: Leatherface and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre

In this episode, not for the faint of heart or stomach, we journey to the heart of Texas and confront Leatherface,  the chainsaw wielding maniac from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

In the backwoods of Texas, Leatherface donned a mask made of human flesh and wielded a chainsaw with gruesome intent.  “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” franchise created a world of horrors with Leatherface as the embodiment of terror. His grotesque appearance and relentless pursuit of victims left an indelible mark on the horror genre. The film franchise has left an indelible mark in the USPTO trademark database.
Let the Leatherface and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” trademark application refusals rip through your memory to remind you of how ornamental use isn’t sufficient to show use of a name, logo, or slogan as a trademark. If it’s like putting someone else’s face on over your own, it’s ornamental.

Trademark Tales of Terror: The Masked Horror – Michael Myers

In this post for Trademark Tales of Terror, we peer into some enigmatic trademarks related to Michael Myers, the silent and relentless killer from the “Halloween” film franchise, and we look into the “Halloween” film franchise itself.
If you’re applying for registration or already have registered marks, make sure you are well informed by your attorney about the status of the application or registration. They should be keeping you advised of where the application is in the process and when the next deadlines are. After registration, your attorney may alert you about renewal dates, but you should keep track of these yourself as well, so you make sure that your marks don’t die from neglect. If properly managed, your trademarks can live almost indefinitely, just like Michael Myers.