Starwood Hotels, owners of the W Hotel brand of boutique hotels, filed a lawsuit against Hilton Hotels and several former Starwood executives hired by Hilton. The lawsuit alleges trade secret infringement. The complaint alleges that Hilton lured key W Hotel executives and that these individuals misappropriated W Hotel trade secrets to help Hilton with the [...]
Archive for the ‘Design’ category
Starwood Hotels Alleges Trade Secret Theft
April 19, 2009Borrowing Blue
April 9, 2009Smart marketing. That is what comes to mind when I think about what China Glaze has done with the branding behind its For Audrey nail polish. Take a look at the product. Did you notice the clever associations the nail polish company created by relating the product to the blue color associated with an iconic [...]
Knock-Off Awards
March 28, 2009Shame on you. That’s the purpose of Plagarius, a German cereremony that awards the most blatant knock-off artists. The purpose of the awards is to send a message that stealing innovations is not acceptable. Having their innovations knocked off in this manner can be an innovator’s worst nightmare. With some money and determination, they can [...]
News Brief: Lingerie Entrepreneur gets to Bottom of I.P. Controversy
March 8, 2009Pop culture critic and journalist C.E. Hanifin recently pointed out a fascinating intellectual property controversy at Target Addict. That blog comments on a news story run by The Virginian-Pilot, involving I.P. and lingerie. April Spring, of Norfolk Virginia, obtained a design patent in December, 2008 for a design of women’s briefs marketed under her Foxers [...]
Pimp My Trademark
February 5, 2009I recently watched the MTV show “Pimp My Ride“, in which people with junkers contact the show with the hopes of getting their cars souped -up. The show I happened to watch involved a pretty beaten up Honda Civic. During the car’s transformation, the team installed Lambo doors on the Civic. Lambo doors are car [...]
Boundless trademarks
January 29, 2009Trademarks have a dual purpose: to prevent consumer confusion by preventing any company from usurping the identity of another firm; they also are private property rights that secure a company with goodwill and brand equity. Trademarks have lately been controversial since the scope of trademark property has expanded a lot in recent times. Some trademarks can even [...]
