Alt Legal IP News – Issue #61
Hannah Samendinger | October 31, 2017
Check out our latest episode of Alt Trademarks. I spoke with Erik Pelton about his unique practice, being an examiner, and mentoring young attorneys. Check out the episode here (be sure to check out his new website too).
Happy Halloween!
– In case you need a last minute costume idea, I’d suggest a patented dino outfit made for one or for two.
– I have linked to it before, but just in case you missed it, this is a great video about how a copyright mistake in Night of the Living Dead created the modern zombie.
– The patented Tootsie Roll was once used as a WWII energy bar.
– If Inter Partes Reviews are found to be unconstitutional, could there be zombie patents? Maybe they could team up with the zombie trademarks.
– Check out some spooktacular Halloween trademark registrations.
– Is your Halloween costume infringing on copyrights?
– The USPTO has been celebrating creepy IP on Twitter and with a Reddit AMA.
Regularly Scheduled Programming
– Hasbro has filed a trademark application for the smell of Play-Doh. The deadline to respond to an office action for the application is approaching; check it out here.
– A Virginia federal judge awarded the USPTO $76,000 in attorneys’ fees, despite the fact that the USPTO lost the case at hand.
– Is this trademark application for ALMOND BUTTER merely descriptive or generic? Maybe not.
– In Germany, Ritter has defended and is currently defending their monopoly on square chocolate bars.
– A company called Characters for Hire, LLC cited the Naked Cowboy case in their motion for summary judgment in an ongoing copyright and trademark infringement case against Disney.
– Are gold iPhones in our future? A patent suggests so.
– A couple of years ago, a bar snatched up a trademark registration for “Geographical Center of North America” after a nearby town allowed their rights to lapse. The two are now battling over the title in a cancellation proceeding.
– In New York? Join us for a meetup on November 9th! More details here.
Stay spooky and see you next week!
The Alt Legal Team