Kickstarter has become a great way for game designers to get their products made. In terms of total dollars raised, games are Kickstarter’s most successful category (Kickstarter is nice enough to make some interesting stats available here.) Game designers can now appeal directly to fans and give them what they want. And often, what fans want is something kind of like what they already enjoy. That’s how intellectual property lawsuits are born, folks. In the latest example, Wizards of the Coast (publishers of Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons) have filed suit against Cryptozoic Entertainment and Hex Entertainment for…
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Archives: Business Law
PRETZEL CRISPS is Generic, Not a Trademark
May 5, 2014
Is the phrase “Pretzel Crisps” a trademark, meaning something that identifies the source of the goods, or a generic term? Frito-Lay thinks it’s generic, and, in a recent decision, the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) agreed.
Google’s GLASS Trademark Application Rejected
April 8, 2014
Google’s GLASS Trademark Application Rejected There have been a lot of stories going around lately regarding Google’s attempt to register the word GLASS with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Let’s take a look at the record and see where they stand. This will be an interesting illustration of some of the many complications that can arise with respect to a trademark application.
Craft Beer Trademarks: Nitro Edition
March 25, 2014
Craft Beer Trademarks: Nitro Edition A controversy has arisen regarding Left Hand Brewing, a Colorado-based craft brewer, and their attempt to protect the word NITRO as a trademark for some of their beers. What’s behind this apparent attempt to monopolize a common term in the beer industry – and have Anheuser-Busch and the producer of Guinness arisen as the unlikely saviors?
