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Friday Factoid – 9.28.12
This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevantAlthough V.C. Andrews is credited with having written dozens of Gothic fiction novels, the vast majority of these works were written by a ghostwriter who has been carrying on the V.C. Andrews trademark. Virginia C. (“V.C.”) Andrews died in 1986 after having written only a…
Friday Factoid – 9.21.12
Trademark owners who use brands in a multi-lingual environment should research the meaning of direct translations. As two examples, “Jolly Green Giant” in Arabic directly translates to mean “Intimidating Green Monster” and KFC’s “Finger Lickin’ Good” directly translates in Chinese to mean “Eat your fingers off.” Source: http://www.global-lingo.com/top-six-translation-marketing-mistakes
Friday Factoid – 9.14.12
Although trademarks traditionally consist of words, logos or graphical designs, one may also register a trademark that identifies a unique product configuration, color, scent, sound, taste, touch or motion. Source: http://www.inta.org/Advocacy/Pages/NontraditionalMarks.aspx/
Friday Factoid – 9.7.12
The owners of trademark registrations for zipper, aspirin, escalator, granola, yo-yo, linoleum and other famous marks lost their proprietary rights because they failed to prevent their brand names from being used as a generic product descriptions. Source: http://catchwordbranding.com/catchthis/brand-naming/kleenex-fights-being-generic/
Friday Factoid – 8.31.12
It is estimated that George Foreman has earned over $200 million by lending his name to a grill, a sum that is substantially more than he earned as a boxer. Source: http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2004-12-19/george-foreman-marketing-champ-of-the-world
Friday Factoid – 8.24.12
The cost of one product adulteration or counterfeiting incident averages between 2 and 15 percent of yearly revenues, depending on company size; this could translate to a $400 million impact for a large company, or a $60 million impact for a small company. Source: Grocery Manufacturers Association and A.T. Kearney, “Consumer Product Fraud: Deterrence and…
The Weekly Scenario from Steve Shane – 8.14.12
I get questioned more and more about what same sex couples can do in terms of their estate planning. I wrote a few weeks back about a court case, “Windsor”, which was a New York District Court case which held that part of DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) is unconstitutional and that same-sex couples…
The Weekly Scenario from Steve Shane – 8.6.12
This past week I worked with a client who has a rather large art collection, which for the most part, she is leaving to family members. However, certain pieces she plans to leave to a museum if the museum agrees to place the pieces on exhibit in the museum after her passing. Other pieces she…
The Weekly Scenario from Steve Shane – 7.30.12
This was a question I received this week from a professional advisor and thought it had wide applicability so here it goes… Question: My client is divorcing her spouse. If her divorce agreement does not state otherwise, what happens if she does not change her Will or beneficiary designations on her life insurance after her…
The Weekly Scenario from Steve Shane – 7.23.12
Question: Decedent passed away and no one has been able to locate the original Will nor a copy of the signed Will. Can an unsigned copy of the Will be accepted into probate? Answer: Believe it or not, in some states that have adopted something referred to as the Uniform Probate Code, it may now…
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