Tag archives: brand

The growing importance of brand optimization strategies

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on May 15, 2018 Posted in Trademark

Brand recognition and brand awareness Having a social media presence in today’s digital and fast-paced era is critical. However, having a social media presence requires a long-term strategy that includes a plan to optimize the company’s brand awareness and brand recognition. These are some of the key factors in the profitability and longevity of a … Continue reading

Personal Brands, Social Media, and the Lanham Act

By Susan Ross (US) on August 30, 2017 Posted in Trademark

On July 14, 2017, a federal trial court ruled on an interesting issue: could models and actresses, whose popularity on social media was a strong factor in determining their earning capacities, maintain a lawsuit under the Lanham Act against a “swingers club” that used their photos without consent? In a case where social media played … Continue reading

How Animal Influencers Are Changing the Way Brands Advertise

By Chandler Stephens (US) on August 2, 2017 Posted in General

At this point you are probably familiar with the world of social media influencers. You might follow several on Instagram, or maybe your company partners with them to promote its products. But have you realized that the most valuable influencers may not even be human? This post will focus on animal influencers – they are … Continue reading

So You Can Trademark a Hashtag – But Should You?

By Mayura Noordyke (US) on November 7, 2016 Posted in Trademark

We have previously discussed whether hashtags can be registered as trademarks (yes, they can!) and their increasing prevalence on social media. In this post, we take a closer look at whether brand owners should pursue trademark protection for marks incorporating hashtags.… Continue reading

Germany: Can you be sued for tweeting #Rio2016?

By Sven Jacobs (DE) on August 18, 2016 Posted in Trademark

The answer depends on who you are: For consumers there is little risk involved. Companies, however, did receive letters by the German Olympic Committee in recent weeks warning them about stealing intellectual property, similar to the letters send by the United States Olympic Committee. In particular Twitter accounts should not reference any Olympic results, share … Continue reading

Social media risks during the Rio Games

By Saul Perloff (US) on August 1, 2016 Posted in Trademark

In just four days, the world’s attention will turn to Rio de Janeiro and the Games of the XXXI Olympiad. At the same time, sports enthusiasts will turn to social media to express their support for the Games, for their countries’ teams and for their favorite athletes. Individuals, news outlets, and official Olympic sponsors are … Continue reading

Making Us Safer, through Brand Protection

By Susan Ross (US) on July 5, 2016 Posted in Security

What does brand protection have to do with cybersecurity? A study earlier this year demonstrates the connection.… Continue reading

Socially responsible advertising

By Sinal Govender (SA) on May 6, 2016 Posted in General

On April 6, 2016, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority considered a complaint made against Guccio Gucci SpA regarding a video, which originally appeared on the website at www.thetimes.co.uk. The advert featured several models dancing in a house, clothed in the apparel of the global fashion brand, and the complaint centred around the physical appearance of … Continue reading

Rise of the social media bots

By Mayura Noordyke (US) on May 4, 2016 Posted in Fraud, General

As we discussed in a recent post, “Social media overload”, social media has grown exponentially over the past decade and has caused businesses to change how they operate and how they make decisions. Social media has quickly become one of the most important marketing platforms, providing a convenient way for companies to reach broad audiences.… Continue reading

Social media stars and IP empires

By Maya Medeiros on March 14, 2016 Posted in Copyright, General, Social media policies

Social media platforms enable users to profit from their brand and original works such as photos, videos, articles and various “mash ups”. Their brand and content may be protected by trademarks and copyrights and users may generate thousands of postings to build an extensive intellectual property portfolio. A user may develop a popular brand for … Continue reading