February 24, 2012
Michael Jordan Defends His Product Naming In China
Quick... what do Apple Inc. and Michael Jordan have in common?
Answer: they are both defending their trademarks in China.
Apple has been struggling with Chinese upstart Proview over the iPad name for a while now and two days ago, Jordan announced he was suing a Chinese sportswear maker called Qiaodan Sports for using his name without his permission.
The name of the company is taken from the Chinese version of Jordan's name and is obviously recognizable in China as such.
In addition, the products that Qiaodan makes bears a logo featuring what looks like a heavier Michael Jordan holding a ping pong paddle. The company even has what appears to be false Michael Jordan stores in China, and is now trying to raise money to be traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Jordan has said "It is deeply disappointing to see a company build a business off my Chinese name without my permission, use the No 23 and even attempt to use the names of my children."
He goes on to say that "This complaint is not about money. It's about principle and protecting my name. Any monetary awards I might receive will be invested in growing the sport of basketball in China."
Qiaodan is one of China's top sportswear apparel makers by revenue and number of outlets, so to see such a high profile group blatantly trading off one of the world's biggest names is, to say the least, alarming.
Qiaodan has put up a petulant notice on its website saying, "The Qiaodan trademark is applied by our company in accordance with Chinese law. We therefore will enjoy an exclusive right to its use, which is protected by law."
We will continue to watch this example of brazen trademark violation with interest.
Technorati Tags: Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan Brand Naming, Trademark Dispute, China Trademark Infringement, Product Naming, Jordan Product Naming, Jordan Brand Name
Posted by William Lozito at 8:03 AM
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February 9, 2012
Madonna's "Girls Gone Wild" Naming Dispute
A few days before her Super Bowl performance, Madonna received a cease and desist letter from the founder of "Girls Gone Wild," Joe Francis, threatening to take legal action if she sang her new song titled, "Girls Gone Wild."
Francis, holder of the trademark for the video series featuring co-eds in various states of undress, is furious over the "free ride on the valuable consumer goodwill and brand recognition" that Madonna has enjoyed by using the phrase as a song title on her new album M.D.N.A.
I smell a publicity stunt, as does Donna Ray Berkelhammer at North Carolina Law Life, who points out that "Song titles are not trademarks and cannot be registered as such."
A trademark must be used to identify specific goods or services, and song titles do not do this. For that reason, it is impossible for Francis to have trademark rights to the phrase as a song title, plus, he has not registered the trademark in the realm of music at all.
Therefore, it appears Francis does not have a legitimate trademark dispute here.
Additionally, Madonna has a first amendment right to use the phrase as a title of her song... which is why the MCA Records song "Barbie Girl" (remember that one? 'C'mon Barbie, let's go party?") was safe from legal action by Mattel, owner of the Barbie trademark.
Finally, there was a 2007 single from Ludacris titled "Girls Gone Wild," that Francis did not object to.
In any event, Francis got what he wanted - Madge did not sing the song at half-time and he certainly received some free publicity.
I doubt he will continue with this legal action.
Technorati Tags: Madonna, Girls Gone Wild, Joe Francis, Naming Dispute, Song Title Naming, Naming
Posted by William Lozito at 7:56 AM
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October 24, 2011
Will New James Bond Movie Co-Star the Range Rover Brand Name?
I always keep an eye on James Bond. He is really the king of product placements, at least in my mind, although I know statistically the girls in Sex and the City have him beat.
The new James Bond movie, now simply entitled James Bond 23, will feature a Range Rover Evoque.
Specifically, James Bond, played by Daniel Craig, will leap from the Jaguar to the new Evoque. This must be wonderful news for Tata Motors, who own both brands, although of course they would've paid for the privilege. We do know that an Evoque was delivered to the set of the new movie.
Land Rovers have been seen in many James Bond movies, including Octopussy, the Living Daylights, and Casino Royale. This is interesting, because the Evoque is actually going to be one of Land Rover's least expensive offerings.
James Bond might be sporting a beard, in this movie, and it looks like this one is going to be much more character driven.
I doubt, however, that they will scale back on the product placement. In any event, shooting begins next month and rumor has it that the title of the movie will be "Skyfall," which is set to be released in November 2012.
Many feel that the Jag that will be featured in the movie will be the new XE/C-X16. This leads one blogger to think that given the timing of the movie we might not see the Evoque but instead the brand-new 2013 Range Rover, which is still in top secret mode.
It seems that James Bond himself is more of a sports car man then somebody who goes for the 4 x 4, but the Range Rover brand suits his sense of bling.
Only time will tell.
Technorati Tags: 007, Daniel Craig, Land Rover, Range Rover, Jaguar, James Bond, Brand Name, Product Placement, Marketing
Posted by William Lozito at 8:35 AM
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October 6, 2011
Steve Jobs - More Than the Apple Brand Name
The death of Steve Jobs has brought forth outpourings of admiration even from his enemies.
As actor and comedian Stephen Fry pointed out when Jobs retired from Apple a few weeks ago due to health issues, Steve Jobs made us realize that "passion and belief" could indeed drive a company.
The Apple brand has literally changed the world in a meaningful way.
As one blogger points out, "Apple does not necessarily sell products, it sells aspirations and Jobs was the dream weaver."
He of course coined the brand name Apple.
But he also communicated an entire way of thinking about business and indeed life not only in the products he created but in his numerous presentations for the company.
Thus, the Apple brand name is very much associated with his, much like Richard Branson's is tied to Virgin's brand name.
But many famous company founders whose names were literally synonymous with the company's success managed to hand the reigns over to the next generation successfully.
Professor Ferdinand Porsche gave us a company that still has a massively strong brand name decades after his death.
The same can be said of Enzo Ferrari. Or, for that matter, Coco Chanel.
These people gave us brands that at one time were inextricably linked with their own personalities. But as time wore on, they evolved, while retaining the flair and vision of their founders.
Genius he was, but I will remember Steve most for what he said at the Stanford University Commencement address in 2005.
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."
Technorati Tags: Steve Jobs, Apple, Apple Branding, Apple Naming, Apple Brand Name
Posted by William Lozito at 8:00 AM
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October 3, 2011
Facebook Product Naming Lawsuit - Timelines® Versus Timeline
Let's see if we can reconstruct the timeline on Facebook's most recent controversy - a lawsuit filed by a small Chicago company that operates the Timelines.com website.
The company claims that the social networking giant is trying to put them out of business with their selection of Timeline as the new product name.
| 2007 | Timelines
A Chicago company establishes what it calls "the first web site that enables people like you to collaboratively record, discover and share history. It's history recorded by the people, for the people." |
| 2008 23 May | Timelines
Timelines Inc. files its application with the USPTO to register the mark "Timelines" - the description does not include any reference to "Social" or "Network/Networking." |
| 2009 15 Sept | Timelines
The Timelines® Trademark is officially registered with the USPTO. |
| 2011 22 Sept | Facebook
Facebook introduces it's own Timeline service at the company's F8 developer conference. During the conference, Facebook announced the replacement of standard profile pages with the Timeline feature that allows users to tell the story of their lives chronologically with photos, videos, and music. |
| 2011 29 Sept | Timelines
Timelines files a trademark suit against Facebook claiming that its use of the mark would destroy their livelihood. The suit also called for an immediate injunction to prevent being "rolled over and quite possibly eliminated by the unlawful action by the world's largest and most powerful social-media company, Facebook." |
| 2011 29 Sept | Timelines
Timelines files a new application with USPTO. This time the application contains three references for "Social," and six for "Network/Networking." While the application is clearly meant to strengthen their case against Facebook, the argument can be made that the timing of the filing shows that the Timelines suit may have some cracks. |
| 2011 30 Sept | Federal Judge
A federal judge refused to grant a temporary restraining order to Timelines.com. In return, Facebook has promised to limit access for now and to hold back on a full launch - only making the service available to 'developers.' |
| 2011 30 Sept | Facebook
Facebook promised not to 'broadly launch' the service until the parties appear in court again on October 4, today. But is it keeping it's promise? |
| 2011 03 Oct | My Facebook Page
Yesterday, October 3, I received notification that several of my friends have 'signed up for Timeline" (none of which are developers). TechCrunch has apparently published a work around so that anyone can sign up for Timelines. |
| 2011 04 Oct | Court Hearing
Stay tuned for the next wrinkle in Facebooks Timeline. |
Technorati Tags: Facebook, Timelines, Facebook Timelines, Timelines Product Naming, Product Naming, Facebook Product Naming
Posted by Diane Prange at 4:36 PM
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