Friday, 2 December 2011
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
Capitalism captures the 99 percent on mugs, T-shirts
Now, T-shirts, coffee mugs and other merchandise emblazoned with Occupy locations and slogans are being offered online and amid the camp sites that have sprung up in cities across the country. A number of merchandise vendors, clothing designers and others are making plans to market a wide variety of goods for a wide variety of reasons, even as some protesters decry the business plans as directly counter to the demonstrations’ goals.
In recent weeks, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has received a spate of applications from enterprising merchandisers, lawyers and others seeking to win exclusive commercial rights to such phrases as “We are the 99 percent,” ‘’Occupy” and “Occupy DC 2012.”
Organizers of the protest centered in Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park went so far as to file for a trademark of “Occupy Wall Street” after several other applications connected to the demonstrations were filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Wylie Stecklow, a lawyer representing the protesters, said the Oct. 24 filing was done to prevent profiteering from a movement that many say is a protest of corporate greed.
“I would like to ensure that this isn’t co-opted for commercial purposes,” Stecklow said. “The trademark can be used for noncommercial purposes.”
Stecklow’s application was one of three filed with the Patent and Trademark Office seeking to trademark either “Occupy Wall Street” or “Occupy Wall St.”
Vince Ferraro, a small businessman based in Arizona, applied to trademark “Occupy Wall Street” a few hours after Stecklow. Ferraro declined to discuss his plans if he wins the trademark.
“If I prevail,” he said, “I believe there are opportunities in commerce not directly related to the movement.”
Both Stecklow and Ferraro were beat to the trademark office by a Long Island couple who filed for “Occupy Wall St.” on Oct. 16. Robert and Diane Maresca paid $975 to file the application, which said they intended to put the phrase on a variety of products.
The couple could not be reached for comment. But on Thursday, they withdrew their application, leaving Stecklow’s clients and Ferraro as the only two competing to own “Occupy Wall Street.”
Patent and Trademark Office lawyer Cynthia Lynch said that when the trademark office is confronted with similar applications, it gives priority to the first application received. However, she said the trademark office also takes into consideration whether the phrase was in wide use before the first application was filed.
Stecklow, the attorney for the protesters, says he believed his clients will prevail because they’ve been using the phrase “Occupy Wall Street” for months before the first application was filed.
Lynch declined to discuss specific applications and said it takes about three months for the office to make an initial determination.
“This rush to trademark was entirely expected and predictable because this is what everybody does,” said Ron Coleman, a trademark lawyer and author of a popular trademark blog. “The irony is too rich.”
Coleman predicted the New York protesters would prevail because they’ve been using the phrase the longest. Nonetheless, he questioned how the trademark could be managed by a group claiming to be leaderless.
source from, read more : http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/capitalism-captures-the-99-percent-on-mugs-t-shirts/2011/11/06/gIQAUwoTtM_story.html
In recent weeks, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has received a spate of applications from enterprising merchandisers, lawyers and others seeking to win exclusive commercial rights to such phrases as “We are the 99 percent,” ‘’Occupy” and “Occupy DC 2012.”
Organizers of the protest centered in Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park went so far as to file for a trademark of “Occupy Wall Street” after several other applications connected to the demonstrations were filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Wylie Stecklow, a lawyer representing the protesters, said the Oct. 24 filing was done to prevent profiteering from a movement that many say is a protest of corporate greed.
“I would like to ensure that this isn’t co-opted for commercial purposes,” Stecklow said. “The trademark can be used for noncommercial purposes.”
Stecklow’s application was one of three filed with the Patent and Trademark Office seeking to trademark either “Occupy Wall Street” or “Occupy Wall St.”
Vince Ferraro, a small businessman based in Arizona, applied to trademark “Occupy Wall Street” a few hours after Stecklow. Ferraro declined to discuss his plans if he wins the trademark.
“If I prevail,” he said, “I believe there are opportunities in commerce not directly related to the movement.”
Both Stecklow and Ferraro were beat to the trademark office by a Long Island couple who filed for “Occupy Wall St.” on Oct. 16. Robert and Diane Maresca paid $975 to file the application, which said they intended to put the phrase on a variety of products.
The couple could not be reached for comment. But on Thursday, they withdrew their application, leaving Stecklow’s clients and Ferraro as the only two competing to own “Occupy Wall Street.”
Patent and Trademark Office lawyer Cynthia Lynch said that when the trademark office is confronted with similar applications, it gives priority to the first application received. However, she said the trademark office also takes into consideration whether the phrase was in wide use before the first application was filed.
Stecklow, the attorney for the protesters, says he believed his clients will prevail because they’ve been using the phrase “Occupy Wall Street” for months before the first application was filed.
Lynch declined to discuss specific applications and said it takes about three months for the office to make an initial determination.
“This rush to trademark was entirely expected and predictable because this is what everybody does,” said Ron Coleman, a trademark lawyer and author of a popular trademark blog. “The irony is too rich.”
Coleman predicted the New York protesters would prevail because they’ve been using the phrase the longest. Nonetheless, he questioned how the trademark could be managed by a group claiming to be leaderless.
source from, read more : http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/capitalism-captures-the-99-percent-on-mugs-t-shirts/2011/11/06/gIQAUwoTtM_story.html
Thursday, 27 October 2011
IPOPhil eyes automated trademark applications
THE INTELLECTUAL Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPhil) plans to automate trademark and industrial design applications by next year to cut down processing to a few days in a bid to shore up registration of intellectual assets, an official said on Monday.
The project is part of the agency’s 2012-2016 Philippine Action Plan on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Protection and Enforcement. The action plan aims to create nationwide awareness of the benefits of IPR in an effort to stamp out piracy, and encourage local businesses and universities to protect their innovations.
“The automation of trademark and industrial design applications will happen around the end of 2012. This will cut down the application and [preliminary] approval period to five days. Trademarks and designs shouldn’t take long to approve anyway because these are easy enough to review,” Andrew Michael S. Ong, IPOPhil deputy director-general, told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the First Philippine Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Summit.
“Right now, we are averaging eight months for our approval process, because the applications need to be filed at the office directly. With the automation, these applications can be readily submitted online,” he continued.
Trademark and industrial design applications are first given preliminary approval by the IP office. The internal study determines whether the mark or model is eligible for an IP registration based on a standard criteria. Approved applications will then be published for opposition in various newspapers to ensure there are no other claimants and that public interests and welfare will not be harmed by the registration.
The automation, the official noted, pertains only to the preliminary approval process.
“The publication after the preliminary approval takes longer than five days, but this automation is a significant improvement on the current application process, so that people can find out immediately whether their trademarks or designs were rejected so they can immediately come up with a new one,” Mr. Ong explained.
“We are definitely expecting an increase in applications and registrations once the automation is rolled out, since this will make the process easier and cheaper for businesses,” he added.
Registered trademark and industrial designs last year increased by 7.58% and almost 23% (22.99%) to 12,028 and 642 filings, respectively, from a year earlier, IPOPhil data show.
read more: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Economy&title=IPOPhil-eyes-automated-trademark-applications&id=40688
The project is part of the agency’s 2012-2016 Philippine Action Plan on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Protection and Enforcement. The action plan aims to create nationwide awareness of the benefits of IPR in an effort to stamp out piracy, and encourage local businesses and universities to protect their innovations.
“The automation of trademark and industrial design applications will happen around the end of 2012. This will cut down the application and [preliminary] approval period to five days. Trademarks and designs shouldn’t take long to approve anyway because these are easy enough to review,” Andrew Michael S. Ong, IPOPhil deputy director-general, told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the First Philippine Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Summit.
“Right now, we are averaging eight months for our approval process, because the applications need to be filed at the office directly. With the automation, these applications can be readily submitted online,” he continued.
Trademark and industrial design applications are first given preliminary approval by the IP office. The internal study determines whether the mark or model is eligible for an IP registration based on a standard criteria. Approved applications will then be published for opposition in various newspapers to ensure there are no other claimants and that public interests and welfare will not be harmed by the registration.
The automation, the official noted, pertains only to the preliminary approval process.
“The publication after the preliminary approval takes longer than five days, but this automation is a significant improvement on the current application process, so that people can find out immediately whether their trademarks or designs were rejected so they can immediately come up with a new one,” Mr. Ong explained.
“We are definitely expecting an increase in applications and registrations once the automation is rolled out, since this will make the process easier and cheaper for businesses,” he added.
Registered trademark and industrial designs last year increased by 7.58% and almost 23% (22.99%) to 12,028 and 642 filings, respectively, from a year earlier, IPOPhil data show.
read more: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Economy&title=IPOPhil-eyes-automated-trademark-applications&id=40688
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