• Posts Tagged ‘River West Brands’

    Secondary Source Marks and Abandonment

    by  • March 6, 2016 • trademark • 1 Comment

    UPDATE: The parties settled, divvying up the brands. I haven’t written about “zombie” or “heritage” marks in a long time. I last wrote in 2011, about a suit involving department store brands that Macy’s acquired and rebranded, abandoning the original names of Marshall Field’s, I. Magnin, Burdine’s, Kaufmann’s, Lazarus, Meir & Frank, Rich’s and...

    Read more →

    Zombie Brand Rising From the Dead?

    by  • May 25, 2014 • trade dress, trademark • 0 Comments

    I just watched the most recent episode of Mad Men, “The Strategy.” The “strategy” is for an advertising campaign for the Burger Chef chain of fast food restaurants. Here’s the closing shot of the episode, with Pete, Peggy and Don sitting in a Burger Chef: Anyone eaten at a Burger Chef lately—anyone? According to Wikipedia, there...

    Read more →

    Zombie Department Stores Rise (as ugly t-shirts)

    by  • December 17, 2011 • trademark

    There’s been a fair amount written about “heritage,” “dead” or “zombie” brands, including by me. These are brands that aren’t being used anymore by the original owner, but they still have resonance with consumers. A third party comes along specifically with the intent of exploiting the consumer recognition by creating a new offering around...

    Read more →

    Abandoned, No Surprise

    by  • June 10, 2011 • trademark

    Some cases make you wonder more about the lawyers. Did they come in to the situation too late and just have a mess to clean up? Have they counseled their clients about their odds? Original Rex, LLC v. Beautiful Brands International, LLC just looks like such a long shot, but some clients can’t be...

    Read more →

    Why the Paperwork is Important

    by  • March 21, 2011 • trademark

    Defendant River West Brands LLC is a company that, in its own words, “identifies, acquires, redevelops, and monetizes iconic brand intellectual property that is significantly distressed.” In other words, its business is in zombie brands. I previously blogged on some of the methods the company uses here.  It’s a business model with fairly significant...

    Read more →

    Goodwill for Sale

    by  • August 21, 2008 • trademark

    The area of “residual goodwill” seems to be a hot one lately. I posted recently on River West Brands and Chrysler LLC v. Pimpo, two “residual goodwill” situations, and the TTABlog recently posted on a third one involving the LaSalle trademark for automobiles. “Residual goodwill” describes the significance of a trademark when it is...

    Read more →

    “Heritage” Brands Revisited

    by  • August 8, 2008 • trademark

    Thanks to John Welch for pointing me to a new decision from the TTAB, Chrysler LLC v. Pimpo. Chrysler LLC opposed the registration of the mark RAMBLER for “automobiles and structural parts therefor” by Anthony S. Pimpo. RAMBLER is, of course, a model of car that was produced from 1950 to 1969 – you...

    Read more →

    Who Owns a Dead Mark? Ask River West Brands

    by  • July 26, 2008 • trademark

    We’ve all encountered clients who believe that when a mark is unregistered, or the registration lapses, the client can immediately start using the trademark and take advantage of its residual goodwill. Brand significance can live on for many years and a newcomer may see an opportunity to leverage the goodwill in an unused mark...

    Read more →