Friday, July 31, 2009

"The Presidential Beer Summit, July 30, 2009: The Trademark Perspective"


President Barack Obama, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sergeant James Crowley toast at the start of their meeting in the Rose Garden of the White House, July 30, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.

By now everyone not holed up in a cave in Afghanistan has heard about the Obama Beer Fest. What you have not read, however, is the Trademark Perspective of this Lager Drenched Event ! This blog post shall then devote itself, after a few preliminary remarks and introductory photo and links, to the specific beer brands and their trademarks that were featured at this Summit of Beers. After all, here at TrademarkEsq, it is the Trademarks which protect these now even more famous brands from being hijacked by pirates, counterfeiters and infringers.


A. Preliminary Remarks About The Summit Itself


"For the record, Bud Light: Obama; Sam Adams Light: Gates; Blue Moon: Crowley; and nonalcoholic beer, Buckler: Biden."
(source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obama_harvard_scholar)

One Popular Media Blogger has even characterized Obama's role in this mediation as more "Bartender-in-Chief". "OBAMA MORE BARTENDER THAN MEDIATOR AT BEER SUMMIT: President Barack Obama played bartender-in-chief on Thursday at a “beer summit” of the main players in a racially charged case that he hoped would be a “positive lesson” in a national dialogue on race. Obama, the first black U.S. president, said it was a “friendly, thoughtful” conversation over beer at the White House with prominent Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, who is black, and police Sergeant James Crowley, who is white." (Source: http://www.lbnelert.com)

Perhaps the most salient and important comment to emerge from this dialogue is as follows:

"We agreed to move forward," Crowley said later when asked whether anything had been solved. "I think what you had today was two gentlemen agreeing to disagree on a particular issue. I don't think that we spent too much time dwelling on the past. We spent a lot of time discussing the future." (By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jul 31, 8:10 am ET).

B. The Trademark Perspective in the USA

1. BUD LIGHT: President Barack Obama's choice


(a) BUD LIGHT ® (in standard character format)
in International Class #32 for "Beer"
Registration Number 1261873
Registration Date December 20, 1983
Owner (REGISTRANT) Anheuser-Busch, Incorporated CORPORATION
SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). SECTION 8(10-YR) 20040109.
Renewal 1ST RENEWAL 20040109

(b) "BUD LIGHT (and design)"®
in Intl. Class #32 for "Beer"

Registration Number 3165341
Registration Date October 31, 2006
Owner (REGISTRANT) ANHEUSER-BUSCH, INCORPORATED


2. BUCKLER®: V.P. Joe Biden

(a). BUCKLER® (in standard character format)
in Intl. Class #32 for "BEERS; MINERAL AND AERATED WATERS; NON-ALCOHOLIC BEERS AND MALT BEVERAGES; FRUIT JUICES AND FRUIT JUICE DRINKS; SYRUPS USED IN THE PREPARATION OF SOFT DRINKS"
Registration Number 1553153
Registration Date August 22, 1989
Owner (REGISTRANT) HEINEKEN BROUWERIJEN B.V. PRIVATE LIMITED COMPANY NETHERLANDS 2E WETERINGPLANTSOEN 21 AMSTERDAM NETHERLANDS
SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). SECTION 8(10-YR) 20090408.

(b) BUCKLER (and design)"®

in Intl. Class #32 for "BEERS; MINERAL AND AERATED WATERS; NON-ALCOHOLIC BEERS AND MALT BEVERAGES; FRUIT JUICES AND FRUIT JUICE DRINKS; SYRUPS USED IN THE PREPARATION OF SOFT DRINKS"
Registration Number 1562471
Registration Date October 24, 1989
Description of Mark: THE DRAWING IS LINED FOR THE COLORS GOLD, BLUE, RED AND SILVER WHICH ARE CLAIMED AS TRADE MARK FEATURES.
Owner (REGISTRANT) HEINEKEN BROUWERIJEN B.V. PRIVATE LIMITED COMPANY NETHERLANDS
SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). SECTION 8(10-YR) 20090601.



3. BLUE MOON®: Police Officer Crowley

in Intl. Class #32 for "Beer"
Registration Number 3119888
Registration Date July 25, 2006
Owner (REGISTRANT) Coors Global Properties, Inc. CORPORATION COLORADO Suite 170 165 South Union Boulevard Lakewood COLORADO 80228 (LAST LISTED OWNER) MILLERCOORS LLC LTD LIAB CO DELAWARE
(LAST LISTED OWNER) MILLERCOORS LLC LTD LIAB CO DELAWARE

(b) "BLUE MOON (and design)"®

in Intl. Class #16 for "Paper banners, posters, printed paper signs, namely, table tents, paper display cards, paper pennants, pens, stickers, coasters made of paper, paper napkins, cardboard floor display units for merchandising products and note paper." FIRST USE: 19950000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19950000

in Intl. Class #21 for "Beverage glassware, bottle openers, pitchers, plastic buckets, plastic cups, serving trays not of precious metal, bottle stands, mugs, cups." FIRST USE: 19970100. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19970100

in Intl. Class #25 for "Clothing, namely, shirts, t-shirts, golf shirts, sweatshirts, denim shirts, aprons, tops, shorts, sweatpants, tank tops, jackets, wind resistant jackets, hats and caps, excluding clothing for children." FIRST USE: 19970100. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19970100

in Intl. Class #32 for "Beer." FIRST USE: 19950000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19950000

Registration Number 3439303
Registration Date June 3, 2008
(LAST LISTED OWNER) MILLERCOORS LLC LTD LIAB CO DELAWARE

Note: In addition, there are at least two other design marks that are registered by this same Owner in connection with the BLUE MOON brand, as follows:




4. SAM ADAMS LIGHT®: Prof. Gates


SAM ADAMS LIGHT®
in Intl. Class #32 for "beverages, namely beer and ale."
Registration Number 2597646
Registration Date July 23, 2002
Other Data: The name "SAM ADAMS" in the mark does not identify a living individual.
Owner (REGISTRANT) BOSTON BEER CORPORATION CORPORATION MASSACHUSETTS 75 Arlington Street Boston MASSACHUSETTS 02130
(LAST LISTED OWNER) BBC BRANDS, LLC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

note: as most everyone know, the preceding and additional brand name, SAM ADAMS, is also registered separately, as are numerous otherSAM ADAMS formative marks, including the following stylized label:


C. Comments on the Trademark Perspective of these Beer Companies and their Brands

The first noticeable and common trait that each of these brands share is that they are protected both in standard character format (or as previously known, in block letter format) and in composite format, e.g., with a design or logo. This has obvious ramifications in purely trademark enforcement parlance, not to mention for the purposes of marketing.

Additionally, it is not a coincidence that each of these brands are protected by trademark registrations on the Principal Register with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The Registrations provide a number of advantages in the U.S., including but not limited to, exclusiveness to the trademark within the U.S., presumptive validity, and after 5 years of use, the opportunity to seek "Incontestable" status via the Sec. 15 Affidavit.

Finally, we will leave it to conspiracy theorists to discuss the import, if any, with respect to the beer brand selections of the parties to this first ever Presidential Beer Summit, aka "Beer Mediation".

Postscript: Rumor has it a Beer Pong Summit is to be held in Helsinki, Finland.

***** ***** *****

Until next time,....please remember:

TrademarkEsq is here for you !



Respectfully submitted,


William E. Maguire, Esq.
Los Angeles, Calif.
www.TrademarkEsq.com

Thursday, July 23, 2009

THE CON IS ON !

2009: Friday, July 24, 2009






The San Diego Comic-Con in ON ! July 23, - 26, 2009.

Already word is out that Preview Nite, last nite, Wed., July 22, was waaay toooo crowded !
As many people as the Con hosts on fridays. It's business as usual, though, with reports of the G4 film crew setting up at the DC booth last nite.

2009 Comments, ongoing.....

a. One friend reports that he saw an interview on the news with some people camped out all night for Comic Con, basically to get in and get some free toys.

b. And Jim Chadwick reports, "today's forecast for the San Diego Convention Center area: more of the same; hot and muggy. Humidity at 6:30 AM stands at 89%. Depending on what site you check, it's either going to be partly cloudy or sunny, High of about 78, low of 69."

In any case, in this blog post we are going to share some photos of COMIC-CON past and present because only photographs and comment can even partially capture this event. Please consider this blog post a work in progress as we will be updating it as this year's CON unfolds
in all its glory and revelry and surprises.



Dateline: Saturday, July 25, 2009 (Day Three):











Da Jammies (check out this new kids cartoon show at: http://www.4kids.tv/da-jammies


The Cast and Crew of Da Jammies at conclusion of their panel at Comic-Con '09:



Dateline: Friday, July 24, 2009 (Day Two):





















Dateline: July 23, 2009 and just in courtesy of Asako Suzuki. Nice kicks, Asako ! Asako's footwear of choice by Converse.



2008:









2007:




2005:



Monday, July 13, 2009

"Girard College" Rescues Creative Steps Kids Group !

Good News about the Philadelphia Pool story:

Valley Swim Club-Huntingdon Valley: Are Racism Allegations Fair?

by Tina Kells | July 9, 2009 at 03:46 pm

An investigation is underway, "US senator Arlen Specter announced plans to launch a discrimination investigation against The Valley Swim Club, in suburban Philadelphia, PA."

*** x-reference: http://www.thevalleyclub.com

and "Girard College boarding school offered their pool to the Creative Steps kids, and local ice cream parlor Gumdrops & Sprinkles gave the day camp a party of candy and ice cream making for free."

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/valley-swim-club-huntingdon-valley-are-racism-allegations-fair

http://www.girardcollege.com

In addition, since the incident was first reported, there has been an outpouring of support for the Creative Kids Day Camp. In this regard, please see:

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/day-camp-director-overwhelmed-offers-support-her-kids


*** Full Disclosure/Statement from The Valley Club on their website:

"The Valley Club is deeply troubled by the recent allegations of racism which are completely untrue.

We had originally agreed to invite the camps to use our facility, knowing full well that the children from the camps were from multi-ethnic backgrounds. Unfortunately, we quickly learned that we underestimated the capacity of our facilities and realized that we could not accommodate the number of children from these camps. All funds were returned to the camps and we will re-evaluate the issue at a later date to determine whether it can be feasible in the future.

Our Valley Club deplores discrimination in any form, as is evidenced by our multi-ethnic and diverse membership. Whatever comments may or may not have been made by an individual member is an opinion not shared by The Valley Club Board."

Comment:
The Valley Club's position has continued to change from (1) an initial return of the money paid by the Creative Steps" group without explanation; followed by (2) that their group was deemed unacceptable to the Valley Club because, and I quote, it would change the "complexion" of the club; and finally (3) that the Creative Steps group was denied access to the club pool facilities for reasons of "safety".

*** In any case, God Bless "Girard College" for stepping up immediately upon hearing of this incident and offering its pool to the "Creative Steps" kids group.

Thursday, July 09, 2009

"If This Is True, It's An Outrage !


If This Is True, It's An Outrage ! Philadelphia kids denied access to pool seemingly based on 'race'.


July 9, 2009, per Yahoo! News:

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=14414863

If you agree, please forward or contact your congressman or senator or others in a position to help these kids out.


Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,


William E. Maguire,
TrademarkEsq