Archive for the 'trademark law' Category

Who Wants to be a Fragrance Millionaire?

When it comes to non-conventional trademarks (such as sound, scents, shapes, colors and so forth), it’s interesting and, occasionally, a bit unsettling what companies will try to trademark. While perfume companies understandably want their particular carefully developed fragrances to be trademarkable, certain scents should be left alone.

“The olfactory memory is probably the most reliable memory that humans posses… Consequently, economic operators have a clear interest in using olfactory signs to identify their goods.”

Companies want you to follow your nose… And if the scent is trademarked, they figure your nose will lead you right to their doorstep.

So what kinds of scents do companies look to make theirs? Well, a Lithuanian company wanted to trademark the scent of pizza:

“Opinion polls show that many consumers in Lithuania identify the pleasure of eating pizza with our trade mark,” said Mindaugas Gumauskas, marketing director of the Cilija company. “This makes us believe that the scent of freshly baked pizza is a subject to our copyright.”

OK…

What I’d like to believe is that the smell of fresh fruit, such as strawberries or lemons, is sacred. Well, it is. For now…

Here’s hoping it stays that way.

Also, If you ever want to be a fragrance millionaire from your new cologne which smells like the beach, you’ll probably want to file for protection asap.

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Does Your Competitor Still Have a Pulse?

Is your competitor still ticking?

While glancing through recently filed trademarks, sometimes you’ll come across a trademark filing from your competitor who seems to have been dormant for awhile. Just seeing this indicates that they’re still alive and kicking (and have something in the works).

Of course, filing a trademark is not exactly a huge investment, and certainly some companies have filed a trademark and gone under shortly afterwards – but for the most part seeing a new filing indicates of a sign of life.

A sign you’d be wise to pick up on.

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What Not to Make

Most of the time it’s important to know what your competitors are doing, so you can stay ahead of the game, and possibly be inspired.

But sometimes it’s just as critical to see what they are coming up with – so you can make sure too keep as far away from the concept as possible.

Some of my favorite outrageous (and entirely unappetizing creations) include:

  • Dooey-Gooey cookies. It’s probably not as bad as it sounds, but still…
  • Slime Balls and Gel Tubes. Get ready to eat snacks from a tube!
  • Pur Flavor. Having flavored water come out your tap is simply wrong.
  • Batter Blaster. If you don’t have the 3 minutes it takes to mix pancake batter yourself, you’re right: you clearly have more important things to be concerned about than breakfast.

Have you heard of any strange products? What odd items are you happy you didn’t think of?

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