Personally, I take solace in knowing that at some future date a music video of actors pretending to be lawyers singing about IP law may be played in an actual court of law. God bless America.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Velcro® makes a music video about why you shouldn't say "velcro"
Intellectual property law is complicated. I can't tell you how many people I've seen spend hours arguing a point about copyright, but who aren't willing to spend the five minutes it takes to learn the basic differences between copyright and trademark. An almost certainly apocryphal rumor holds that there is some employee at Xerox (or Kleenex, or Q-Tips) whose sole function is to search for uses of the brand name as a general term for the product, and send a cease-and-desist letter. This is because, to maintain a trademark, trademarks must be distinct. This is why I can't start a laptop manufacturer called "Laptops" and sue everyone. However, if a term so lapses into general usage, it runs the risk of no longer being distinct enough to be a legal trademark, which leads to often over-zealous protection of trademarks. To this end, Velcro® produced a parody(?) music video admonishing the public to not say "velcro" unless they mean "velcro®."
Personally, I take solace in knowing that at some future date a music video of actors pretending to be lawyers singing about IP law may be played in an actual court of law. God bless America.
Personally, I take solace in knowing that at some future date a music video of actors pretending to be lawyers singing about IP law may be played in an actual court of law. God bless America.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think this ship has sailed for Velcro. If I say to someone "I want to get hook-and-loop shoes" they won't know what I'm talking about.
ReplyDeleteFurther, I don't have a lot of incentive to help protect Velcro's trademark. Why should I care?
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't, and I don't think Velcro expects you to. I think making this video is a way to demonstrate an attempt to protect trademark, should their trademark ever come into dispute. I just thought that Velcro making a music video to educate the public on the application of IP law was bizarre enough to be worth mentioning.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGreat info! I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have. type beats
ReplyDeleteYour music is amazing. You have some very talented artists. I wish you the best of success. Beach Bonfire
ReplyDeleteNon-restrictive agreement enables a subsequent gathering to appropriate your work and it doesn't disallow the licensor to offer their music to other music permitting organizations or licensees.https://many-ringtones.com/13245-michigan-marching-band-lets-go-blue.html Michigan Marching Band Lets Go Blue Ringtone
ReplyDeleteThis gives many more chances to win and is one of the better aspects of the Kitty Glitter Slot Machine. Bulk craft glitter
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI high appreciate this post. It’s hard to find the good from the bad sometimes, but I think you’ve nailed it! would you mind updating your blog with more information? beats for sale
ReplyDelete