Free Legal Tips | The David Lizerbram & Associates Blog

ASK DAVID: What’s the Controversy Over the Aloha Poke Trademark?

November 14, 2018

A Chicago-based restaurant chain serving poke, a Hawaiian dish of raw fish and rice, recently faced a branding controversy over its ALOHA POKE® trademark. Since obtaining the trademark in 2016, the owners of Aloha Poke Co. sent a cease and desist letter—a legal notice directing another party to cease an activity—to several businesses with similar names nationwide. Several of them happened to be native Hawaiian-owned companies. Aloha Poke Co. sought to stop others from using the specific phrase ALOHA POKE for business purposes, citing trademark infringement. However, the situation boiled over in 2018 with activists and a Hawaii state representative…

3 Steps to Prevent Domain Name Conflicts

November 7, 2018

Given the widespread use of websites to promote businesses, it’s no wonder that domain name conflicts are on the rise. A domain name conflict typically occurs when the owner of a website address (i.e., the domain name) is not the same as the owner of a similar trademark. To illustrate the problem, let me give you a hypothetical domain name conflict. Let’s say there’s a grandmother in Del Mar who makes custom T-shirts. Because she isn’t very mobile anymore, she sells her shirts exclusively through her website, www.HappyTs.com. Two years after she starts doing business, a fashion designer out of…

Is ZERO Generic for Coke (ZERO)?

October 24, 2018

For more than 13 years, a battle has raged over the brand name COKE ZERO. At its core, the dispute centered on whether the term “zero” was generic or descriptive for purposes of trademark law. These two trademark types have important implications for the abilities of companies to protect their intellectual property. If the term was deemed generic, that would mean it could not be registered and it could be used in commerce by anyone – including Coca Cola’s competitors. If, on the other hand, the term was found to be descriptive (i.e., it could be uniquely recognized by consumers…

Ask David: What Should a Standard Nondisclosure Agreement Include?

October 17, 2018

There may be no more critical tool for new companies and inventors than a solid nondisclosure agreement. Generally speaking, standard nondisclosure agreements allow a company to share secret information with other parties while legally prohibiting those parties from spreading the information to a wider audience. Nondisclosure agreements (also known as NDAs) can be used for a variety of purposes, including dissemination of financial information, marketing plans, new technologies, or confidential business processes. NDAs are especially important when a company or entrepreneur is trying to protect their trade secrets. Legally speaking, trade secrets consist of any information that: (1) derives independent…

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Keep it Legal Blog

ASK DAVID: What’s the Controversy Over the Aloha Poke Trademark?

November 14, 2018

3 Steps to Prevent Domain Name Conflicts

November 7, 2018

Is ZERO Generic for Coke (ZERO)?

October 24, 2018

Ask David: What Should a Standard Nondisclosure Agreement Include?

October 17, 2018

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