Class will NOT be canceled on November 4.
You will be responsible for the reading from page 585-611. Your guest lecturer will be Mr. Kevin Wimberly.
Kevin is one of my former students, and a very impressive trademark attorney in his own right. Please give him a warm welcome and be prepared.
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November 5, 2008 at 10:00 am |
I was looking over a recent TTAB opposition by MICHELOB for the mark MAMBO MICHELADA in connection with beer. Essentially MAMBO MICHELADA is a corona type beer that has some type of syrup added to it, and is usually sold to consumers at a Mexican restaurant in the Houston, Texas area. While, I agree with the ultimate outcome, and I do think that consumers might be confused if the MAMBO MICHELADA mark were allowed to be used in connection with beer- I disagree with the way they conducted their survey evidence. I understand that many companies use the Ever Ready method, but I think there is probably a better way to obtain a more accurate sampling of the pubic then conducting a survey in a mall.
I also take issue with the expert testimony that said it is basically impossible to predict how people would pronounce the marks; therefore there is essentially no correct pronunciation of a mark.
Here is a link to the opposition- http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91160250-OPP-68.pdf
Lauren Herold
November 12, 2008 at 11:09 am |
I had been following this naked cowboy case for awhile- too bad it settled. I was interested to see what the court would say on the issue of damages [among other things].
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/11/07/2008-11-07_settlement_ends_naked_cowboy_suit.html
Lauren Herold