What do bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common? Besides being props in Fight Club (a twisted examination of masculinity), they were all invented by women. This riddle also serves as an interesting anecdote since...
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Trademarked scent? Hasbro wants to trademark smell of Play-Doh
Research has proven that scent is a powerful memory trigger. The whiff of a scent can trigger a vivid memory, often linked to a feeling of being transported back in time. Smells are processed by an olfactory bulb, which connects to the amygdala and hippocampus areas...
Will Grumpy Cat finally smile after winning $700k lawsuit?
In 2012 a cat that the internet dubbed Grumpy Cat became an internet sensation after going viral. The Internet fawned over the cat’s permanent frown and grumpy appearance and, as a result, the cat has nearly nine million followers on Facebook.Now the cat is back...
When does parody become infringement?
If you’re a fan of hip-hop music and own a dog, you might initially find humor in a company that cleverly melds the two together with plenty of puns. However, the trademark opposition lawsuit that the company now faces is quite a bit less light-hearted.The...
A pharmaceutical company using tribal immunity to protect patent
The patent system is designed to provide incentive and reward inventors for creating new, useful products by giving them a temporary monopoly after they register their patent. As protecting patents from patentability challenges becomes more difficult, companies are...