Friday, February 15, 2013

From "Drill down" to the "long tail"...

Starting to see a strong uptick in the use of the phrase, the 'long tail', recently.  'Drill down' is, well, long gone and thankfully so.  As for the 'long tail', TechCrunch writers are apparently using it as it seems to be particularly relevant to their topics of interest.  There is a trademark angle too in all of this so please keep reading.

Here are a couple of referenced to the 'long tail' I've seen just this morning:

•  TechCrunch   ENTERPRISE

Amazon Takes Redshift, Its Cloud-Based Data Warehouse Killer, Global
by Ingrid Lunden, Feb. 15, 2013

CRUNCHBASE

"Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), is a leading global Internet company and one of the most trafficked Internet retail destinations worldwide. Amazon is one of the first companies to sell products deep into the long tail by housing them in numerous warehouses..."

    http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/15/amazon-takes-redshift-its-cloud-based-data-warehouse-killer-global/


•  TechCrunch  SOCIAL

You Think You Know What You Want Out Of Twitter Search, But It’s Not What You Really Need

by Drew Olanoff, Feb. 14, 2013

"Twitter is mostly real-time and mostly will be, people overestimate how valuable older stuff is going to be to them. I think in general, for a search product to be great, you have to cover the long tail."

and

"What does a Twitter long tail look like if it’s so real-time? That’s what the company has to grapple with as far as what the search experience will morph into over time."
http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/14/you-think-you-know-what-you-want-out-of-twitter-search-but-its-not-what-you-really-need/?icid=wym1 amp;grcc2=9e325718ee7c4117b6c78e96e0dd2e49~1360948721128~fca4fa8af1286d8a77f26033fdeed202~9051ba0d265fd4eabc07782072cd7d94~1360948410854~8~13~0~0~0~13~51~16~7~13~12~25~8~7526975527903714072~~http%3A%2F%2Ftechcrunch.com%2F2013%2F02%2F15%2Famazon-takes-redshift-its-cloud-based-data-warehouse-killer-global%2F~18~


•  Other Reference Sources

1.  Definition of 'Long Tail'

    http://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/long-tail.asp#axzz2KzWqXERg

2.  Wikipedia

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_tail

excerpt:

"Marketing

The drive to build a market and obtain revenue from the consumer demographic of the long tail has led businesses to implement a series of long-tail marketing techniques, most of them based on extensive use of internet technologies. Among the most representative are:

New media marketing: The building and managing of social networks and online or virtual communities to extend the reach of marketing to the low-frequency, low-intensity consumer in a cost effective way, often through blogs, RSS feeds and podcasts.[citation needed]

Buzz marketing: The strategic use of word of mouth and transmission of commercial information from person to person in an online or real-world environment.

Viral marketing: The intentional spreading of marketing messages using preexisting social networks, with an emphasis on the casual, non-intentional and low cost, commonly through YouTube videos, viral emails and standalone microsites.

Pay per click and search engine optimization: The marketing of websites on search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing by focusing on long-tail keywords which have less competition.

Demand-side platforms/DSPs: Similar to how search engine marketing monetizes the long tail of keywords, auction-oriented buying/selling mechanisms are also viable to help monetize the long tail of ad impressions available across niche publishers in the display advertising realm. Publishers utilize these ad exchange environments, such as Right Media or AdECN, to efficiently sell display inventory that might otherwise go unsold through direct sales force operations. As a result, by January 2011 between 20–25% of all US ad spending was derived from long tail advertisers.[34]"

3.  The Long Tail (book), by Chris Anderson (July 11, 2006)

excerpt of book description:

"...However, this is not just a virtue of online marketplaces; it is an example of an entirely new economic model for business, one that is just beginning to show its power. After a century of obsessing over the few products at the head of the demand curve, the new economics of distribution allow us to turn our focus to the many more products in the tail, which collectively can create a new market as big as the one we already know.

The Long Tail is really about the economics of abundance. New efficiencies in distribution, manufacturing, and marketing are essentially resetting the definition of what's commercially viable across the board. If the 20th century was about hits, the 21st will be equally about niches."

    http://www.amazon.com/Long-Tail-Future-Business-Selling/dp/B001Q9E9F6

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4.  And this is apparently where the phrase started with Chris Anderson in his article in Wired Magazine in 2004 (see link below; excerpt from page 2):

Excerpt:

"This is the Long Tail.

You can find everything out there on the Long Tail. There's the back catalog, older albums still fondly remembered by longtime fans or rediscovered by new ones. There are live tracks, B-sides, remixes, even (gasp) covers. There are niches by the thousands, genre within genre within genre: Imagine an entire Tower Records devoted to '80s hair bands or ambient dub. There are foreign bands, once priced out of reach in the Import aisle, and obscure bands on even more obscure labels, many of which don't have the distribution clout to get into Tower at all."

You can find everything out there on the Long Tail. There's the back catalog, older albums still fondly remembered by longtime fans or rediscovered by new ones. There are live tracks, B-sides, remixes, even (gasp) covers. There are niches by the thousands, genre within genre within genre: Imagine an entire Tower Records devoted to '80s hair bands or ambient dub. There are foreign bands, once priced out of reach in the Import aisle, and obscure bands on even more obscure labels, many of which don't have the distribution clout to get into Tower at all."

    http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html

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Comments:

Though first coined in 2004, this phrase is finding current relevance in 2013 on the web amongst the media and social media pundits.

Additionally, from a trademark perspective, it appears that at one point Chris Anderson had plans to use "The Long Tail" for a series of non-fiction books but the trademark application he filed in this regard was eventually abandoned (see USPTO "TESS" record below):

Word Mark    THE LONG TAIL
Goods and Services    (ABANDONED) IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S: Non-fiction books in the field of business and economics
Standard Characters Claimed   
Mark Drawing Code    (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number    78566195
Filing Date    February 12, 2005
Current Basis    1B
Original Filing Basis    1B
Published for Opposition     July 4, 2006
Owner    (APPLICANT) Anderson, Gregory Christopher INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES
Type of Mark    TRADEMARK
Register    PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator    DEAD
Abandonment Date    March 27, 2007

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In conclusion, who knows where the long tail will eventually lead us all.  In the meantime, we can add it to the long tail list of internet jargon/keywords...

Respectfully submitted,


William E. Maguire
LAW OFFICES OF WILLIAM E. MAGUIRE
Santa Monica, Calif.
web:  http://www.TrademarkEsq.com
blog:  http://TrademarkEsq.blogspot.com

Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Expediting A U.S. Trademark Application

Ok, here's a scenario to contemplate:

A (new) client discovers that someone else is using their trademark for the same goods in the same marketing channels.  You then find out that the client's trademark is not registered with the USPTO. The client wants to know if they can 'rush' or expedite the registration because of the ongoing infringement of their common law trademark.

The answer is likely "Yes", under these circumstances, as is provided in Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) Section 1710, which provides as follows:

1. Petition to Make Special

The USPTO generally examines applications in the order in which they are received. A petition to make “special” is a request to advance the initial examination of an application out of its regular order.

"A petition to make “special” must be accompanied by: (1) the fee required by 37 C.F.R. §2.6; (2) an explanation of why special action is requested; and (3) a statement of facts that shows that special action is justified. The statement of facts should be supported by an affidavit or declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20.

The petition is reviewed in the Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy. The applicant should first file the application via the Trademark Electronic Application System (“TEAS”) at http://www.uspto.gov. The applicant should then submit a petition to make special that includes the newly assigned serial number. To ensure proper routing and processing, the Office prefers that the petition also be filed electronically. In TEAS, the Petition to Make Special form can be accessed by clicking on the link entitled “Petition Forms.”

Alternatively, the petition should be faxed to the attention of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy at the following fax number: 571-273-0032. If the petition is submitted by mail, it should be submitted separately from the application, marked to the attention of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy.

An application for registration of a mark that was the subject of a previous registration that was inadvertently cancelled or expired will be made “special” upon applicant’s request. No petition is required in this situation. See TMEP §702.02 regarding the requirements and filing procedure for a Request to Make Special. 


* Basis for Granting or Denying Petition

Invoking supervisory authority under 37 C.F.R. §2.146 to make an application “special” is an extraordinary remedy that is granted only when very special circumstances exist, such as a demonstrable possibility of the loss of substantial rights. A petition to make “special” is denied when the circumstances would apply equally to a large number of other applicants.

The fact that the applicant is about to embark on an advertising campaign is not considered a circumstance that justifies advancement of an application out of the normal order of examination, because this situation applies to a substantial number of applicants.

The most common reasons for granting petitions to make “special” are the existence of actual or threatened infringement, pending litigation, or the need for a registration as a basis for securing a foreign registration. 


* Processing Petition

Each petition to make “special,” together with the petition decision, is made part of the record. If the petition is granted, the prosecution history of the application in the Trademark Reporting and Monitoring (“TRAM”) System will reflect that the petition for “special” handling has been granted."


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On the other hand, if there are no such exigent circumstances such as actual or threatened infringement, pending litigation, or the need for a registration as a basis for securing a foreign registration, then such a petition is unlikely to be granted.

It is also important to recognize that such a petition does not guarantee a registration.  Indeed, this petition initially only speeds up the elapsed time between the filing date and the examination of the application by the USPTO.  Should there be grounds for refusal or other technical issues raised by the USPTO Examining Attorney, then an Office Action will be issued. In other words, you may find yourself in a hurry up mode only to be slowed down.

In any event, the filing of a trademark application can be expedited under certain circumstances and the client that feels (and qualifies for) the need for speed may be able to make a good case for the granting of a Petition To Make Special as per TMEP Sec. 1710.

Respectfully submitted,


William E. Maguire, Esq.
www.TrademarkEsq.com

note: This blog posting is not intended as legal advice.

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