Intellectual Property

July begins with a big bang, as the United States celebrates Independence Day. Parades, picnics, and fireworks mark the occasion. Coincidently, July is also National Hot Dog Month, National Ice Cream Month and National Picnic Month. As a result, there is no shortage of online videos dedicated to festive recipes, decorations, table settings, picnic planning, outfits, and more. These videos

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” – Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene II This quote from Shakespeare is prophetic from a trademark standpoint. The primary function of a trademark is to identify and distinguish the goods or services of one party from those of other parties. But

In Minnesota, May means the onset of warmer days, our short gardening season, and anticipation for our summer vacations. In May, we also pause to pay tribute to those serving in all branches of the U.S. military (on Armed Forces Day) and to honor and mourn those U.S. military personnel who died in service for our freedoms (on Memorial Day).

In today’s world, advertising is inescapable. We are bombarded every day by marketing messages on our phones, computer screens and television screens. Even while reading a newspaper online, pop-up ads frequently appear, often to our annoyance. One might wonder: how did all this come about, and what purpose does it serve? As we’ve previously written, brands help consumers decide from

You may notice that this is the first IP column by Z. Peter Sawicki with a new co-author! Fear not, James L. Young is still involved, sharing wisdom and providing editorial guidance, and is available to share practice tips and anecdotes in our musings about intellectual property. In this article, we want to discuss “firsts” when it comes to protecting

In the late 1950s – near the tail end of the baby boomer birth year bracket – the USA had just started construction of the nationwide interstate highway system, all telephones had rotary dials, there was no cable/satellite TV, to buy food you went to the grocery store and likely paid cash, and if you needed a prescription drug you

A cat stretched in a barracks; a prisoner observed this and then developed an invention that left a considerable mark on society. Who was the cat? No one really knows. Who was the prisoner? His name was Joseph Pilates. Sound familiar? Invention creation is intriguing and could be considered situational. For example, consider: (1) a failed experiment occurring in a

Last century, when we were kids and it came to mobile food our choices were limited – there were hot dog pushcarts, the musical ice cream man truck, and maybe an occasional trailer that had been converted into a walk-away diner. In the 1970s, taco trucks started showing up on the West Coast (LA), but it was not until “The