The Anchor Plate : November 2011

Published By
The BrickHouse Law Group - Professional Corporation

An•chor Plate

(`aeŋ·ker `plāt)

a metal plate fastened to the exterior of a brick building with a washer or tie rod to reinforce structural support, usually decorative

The An•chor•Plate

(`thē•æŋ-ker-`plāt)

a virtual gathering place for dialogue about the nature of practicing intellectual property law, to increase knowledge and to amuse

Home > November 2011

The Rally Squirrel and the 500-lb. Gorilla

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Michael A. Kahn

By the time the St. Louis Cardinals reached the World Series, the little gray squirrel that had dashed across home plate during Skip Schumaker's at-bat early in the playoffs had been transformed into The Rally Squirrel, complete with Rally Squirrel towels, Rally Squirrel t-shirts and Rally Squirrel stuffed animals.

And by the time Alan Craig caught the final out in the 9th inning of Game 7, the first application to register RALLY SQUIRREL was on file with the U.S. Trademark Office, to be followed ten days later with an application to register RALLY SQUIRRELS. Both were filed by businesses unaffiliated with Major League Baseball. And both raise the same question: should a company be able to claim trademark rights in a name that originated in the public domain?

Tags: Articles, Entertainment, Intellectual Property, Media, Trademark

From Blogging to Podcasting -- Natural Progression?

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Geoff Gerber

I've started podcasting.

I've thought about doing this ever since a commenter on the blog found us after listening to a podcast on which I was a guest. The hospitable crew over at The Podgecast had let me guest ramble about IP law related to comics, movies, role-playing games, and pretty much any thing else. We even talked bout this blog and alternative ways to approach IP litigation.

I thought it would be a good idea to dig up some good resources for IP law podcasts and post them here.

Tags: Intellectual Property, podcast