Branding

By Breanna Pendilton | amdlawgroup.com It is important as a designer that you protect the image and reputation of your brand.  In other words, you want the product that is hanging in the stores to be the product that you produced in the factory; nothing less and nothing more.  This seems to be a common problem with “off the rack” designers.  Even though you can no longer monitor the day to day whereabouts of your designs after it leaves your supervision, you still have rights which

By Gloria Han | amdlawgroup.com Lush is a beauty brand that produces products from fresh organic fruit and vegetables. Their products such as makeup, soap, and face wash are not animal tested and are made fresh by hand with little or no preservative. Lush brand chose not to sell their products on Amazon but when customers searched “lush” into the search bar, similar beauty products sold by Lush appeared in the results. Before resolving the issue in court, Lush trademarked the name “Chri

By Christina Severino | amdlawgroup.com In an effort to build consumer loyalty, brands are increasingly putting more focus on loyalty programs more than price promotions and other discounts. A recent report by MarketingWeek indicated that promotions typically circulated through loyalty programs tend to be the most successful method of converting customers to their brand, through coupons or other reward point systems. The report highlighted a recent marketing research survey conducted by fast

By Hollyn Randolph | Editor: Kristen Daly | www.amdlawgroup.com Licensing is a great way for businesses to expand their brand. When the decision to license is made, it is important to pay attention to the licensing agreement. Creating an effective licensing agreement requires some key components. Licensing is a contractual right that allows businesses to control, manage and protect their intellectual property. An effective licensing agreement contains basic components but also allows

By Aurelia Mitchell Durant, Esquire and Sindy Ding-Voorhees, Esquire Bravo to all the small business owners that have the bravery, vision and drive to create something incredible and novel in the marketplace. Every business starts out from an idea. No matter where you are in the stage of solidifying your business idea or executing your business plan, intellectual property is a substantial part of the plan and you want to timely and correctly protect this valuable asset, especially as you try

By Eliana Rocchi | amdlawgroup.com Edited by Aurelia Mitchell Durant When you seek a patent for your invention you should know that the “classic” type of patent, called a “utility patent”, is aimed to protect the invention's functional and structural features. If you also want to protect your invention’s visual characteristics, like its shape or its decoration, you might need a design patent. In fact, the appearance of your invention will not be covered by a utility patent if

By Bryan Salvadore | amdlawgroup.com The fashion brand, Ralph Lauren, well-known for its “Polo Player” logo recently won a trademark battle against FreshSide. Back In late 2009, FreshSide Ltd. applied to register a trademark with OHIM, the EU body responsible for Community Trademark registrations. FreshSide, which does business as “Chuck” applied to register a mark consisting of a polo player on a bicycle. Ralph Lauren swiftly filed an opposition to FreshSide’s application for the P

Gloria Han | www.amdlawgroup.com Tadashi Yani, who became the second richest man in Japan, founded the relatively new Japanese brand Uniqlo. There are more than 1,500 stores around the world; New York’s Fifth Avenue Uniqlo store encounters 6,000 customers daily and each customer buys an average of four items. How did Uniqlo’s fashion label rise to the top in such a short period of time? Many fashion companies focus on the high fashion runway trends and translate them into affordable versi

By Shandice Sluch | www.amdlawgroup.com With the rising popularity of social media, brands find themselves taking advantage of platforms like Instagram and YouTube to advertise. In fact, companies have invested millions of advertising and marketing dollars in the use of social media influencers. These influencers, also known as brand ambassadors, partner with companies to advertise their products on social media in exchange for money.  Some well-known brands that utilize this strategy inclu

By Breanna Pendilton | amdlawgroup.com    As mentioned in a previous blog, British luxury shirt retailer Thomas Pink filed an infringement action about a year ago against Victoria’s Secret with a court in London, alleging that the Victoria’s Secret PINK line confuses customers by marketing and selling products under the label “PINK” which is also a name under the Thomas Pink brand.  Well, the verdict (or should I say “the secret”) is out!  Judge Colin Birss ruled against Victor

Brandon McCoy | www.amdlawgroup.com Taylor Alison Swift, world renowned country music and pop sensation, is no stranger to the world of intellectual property. In recent years she has been sued for Trademark Infringement of Her Brand Lucky 13, she has created, and obtained, copyrights in chart topping albums, and pulled her music off media streaming giant Spotify. Taylor is at it again. She has recently filed for trademark rights of her works “This Sick Beat”, “Party Like It’s 1989”,

By Ann Marie Sallusti | amdlawgroup.com Trademarks are not just a mark on a product.  Trademarks make products identifiable to consumers and are essentially the product that is being sold.  Trademarks “may” be federally registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), but registration is not mandatory in the United States. Unlike most countries, the United States follows the first to use rule when protecting trademark rights. The first to use rule protects the tr

By Eliana Rocchi | amdlawgroup.com The expression “Public domain” is generally used with reference to the works that belong to everyone and are available for public use. The concept comes from copyright law. It identifies those creative works that are not protected by copyright and thus may be used freely by the public. In other words anyone can copy them or modify them or generally use them in any way they wish. But when does that happen? Nowadays, copyrights in a work are acquired au

Brandon McCoy | www.amdlawgroup.com Jay-Z the music mogul from Brooklyn, NY has already logged successful ventures in clothing, fragrance, and the management arenas. Now he is looking to bring some healthy competition to music streaming giant Spotify. Jay Z, who is estimated to be worth some $520 million, is seeking to buy Asipro via his company Project Panther Bidco. Aspiro currently operates a pair of streaming services: the ad-free WiMP and the high-definition Tidal. Both of these

By Breanna Pendilton | amdlawgroup.com The Michael Kors brand is arguably one of the most expensive and well-known labels in today’s fashion world. But these same characteristics, (expensive and well-known) are exactly what’s destroying the reputation of this brand. Outlet stores and small business are jacking down the prices, and while the good ole’ Michael Kors’ stores still exist, customers are much more apt to buying them cheaper at other discount stores and retailers. The word