Business and Tax Lawyer Blog

The Riverside area of Jacksonville, Florida is best described as an eclectic mix of residents and businesses from various ethnic and economic backgrounds. The Riverside Avondale Development Organization recently organized a community cleanup project to pick up litter throughout the area. The event gave local businesses an opportunity to show that they are interested in being a part of the local community – and that they are not just another bank or another store.

The event, which was co-sponsored by Florida Bank and Harpoon Louie's, drew business owners and their employees along with area residents, who walked a three mile area of the neighborhood with bright blue trash bags. They were able to fill nearly a hundred bags with trash removed from the area.

The organization promoted the event using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and Constant Contact alongside more traditional methods such as going door to door to talk to business owners and hanging up flyers in the area. Businesses gave donations of t-shirts, refreshments, and gift cards to reward participants, and Green It Up Clean It Up provided trash bags and safety equipment for the volunteers.

Residents and merchants alike deemed the day a success, and hope to turn their attention to other community improvement projects in the future. Read more about the Riverside community cleanup at Riverside cleanup connects neighbors, merchants.

Continue reading "Jacksonville, Florida Businesses and Residents Join Forces to Clean up Riverside Area" »

Due to a cooker malfunction at one of the company’s plants located in Paris, Texas, Campbell Soup. Co. has decided to recall 15 million pounds of SpaghettiOs with meatballs. Three varities have been recalled, each of which are highly consumed by children:  SpaghettiOs with Meatballs, SpaghettiOs  A to Z with Meatballs, and SpaghettiOs Fun Shapes with Meatballs (Cars).   The Agricultural Department announced the recall late Thursday afternoon on June 17.  Certain lots of the product manufactured back in 2008 are even being recalled, stated Campbell spokesman, Anthony Sanzio.  Although officials believe the cooker malfunctioned recently, they are not certain. 

Out of an abundance of caution, lots of the product manufactured from between December 2008 and June 10, which were distributed nationwide, were recalled. Presently on the market, the company believes there are 35,000 cases of SpaghettiOs subject to recall.  The USDA announced the 15 million pound recall because that is all of the product that has been produced since 2008; while most of it has likely been consumed, the Company has elected to move to address the issue.

To read more about this incident see 15 million pound SpaghettiOs recall.

Recalls can affect a business’ reputation, good will and customer sales.  Contact Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. to discuss how to protect your business in the event of such an incident.

CVS Caremark Co. and Walgreen Co. have settled a contract dispute, which, if left unresolved, would have prevented thousands of customers from getting their prescriptions filled at Walgreen. Walgreen has 7,500 outlets and is the largest U.S. drugstore chain operator. The two companies negotiated a multiyear deal but no terms were disclosed by either company. The partnership between CVS and Walgreen allows people whose prescription drugs benefits are handled by Caremark to be reimbursed for prescriptions filled at Walgreen’s pharmacies. Caremark contracts with employers and handles the drug benefit parts of their health plans, paying pharmacies to fill prescriptions. Caremark saves money by negotiating volume discounts.

On June 7th, Walgreen stated that it planned to end their relationship with CVS gradually. However, on June 9th, CVS Caremark said the company would exclude Walgreen from its network in a month. If this happened to be the outcome, starting July 9th, Walgreen customers whose prescriptions were managed by Caremark would have had to fill their prescriptions at stores (such as CVS, Kroger, or Safeway) if they wanted to be reimbursed for their drug costs.

The settled dispute between the two companies was a positive outcome. Kermit Crawford, executive vice president of pharmacy for Walgreen, said in a statement that, “the agreement makes good business sense … and assures choice and convenience [to customers].” Shares of both companies rose 3% the morning of June 18th.

To read more details about the settled dispute see CVS and Walgreen negotiate contract dispute.

If you are engaged in a contract dispute, contact Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. to negotiate a contract dispute your business may be dealing with. It is important to seek legal counsel to protect your interest and ensure future business.

Sun-Maid is updating their Sun-Maid girl's new look, and it is sparking controversy. The iconic symbol has been transformed from a girl in a loose-fitting smock to a modern young woman in tight-fitting clothes. The new symbol has been described by some as "Barbie Doll in Amish attire." The update follows on the heels of other well-known symbol modernization of such iconic figures as Betty Crocker, Aunt Jemima and Mrs. Butterworth.

The original drawing of the Sun-Maid girl was made in 1915, and was inspired by Lorrraine Collett Peterson, a young California girl who posed for the watercolor that is the basis of the symbol. Lorraine's look has been updated slightly over the years, but the basis of the image has always been the original watercolor – until now. The new computer animated Sun-Maid girl is a real departure from the original. Comments from conservatives to feminists are less than positive, and mostly focus on the woman's adult shape and snug top.

According to a company spokesman, the redesign was done to bring the company's image into the twenty first century as well as to help educate modern consumers about healthy food choices. It is rumored that the Sun-Maid girl will be featured in upcoming advertising doing the things a modern woman would do, such as going to the gym and shopping. See the old and new logos and find out more about the new Sun-Maid girl at 'Sun-Maid girl' makeover sparks controversy.

Companies spend a lot of money to update logos in order to freshen up their brand image and appeal to modern customers. But they do need to be careful; the image they have worked so hard to establish over the years can be damaged by a makeover that rubs consumers the wrong way. If you have a business trademark issue, please contact Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. for legal counsel.

When a company wants to introduce a new product, they need to be careful that they are not infringing on someone else's existing patent or trademark. The following are four examples of out of the ordinary patents and trademarks that may trip up a new product introduction.

Apple Computers vs. McIntosh

When Apple started developing the Macintosh, they deliberately spelled the name wrong in order to sidestep any trademark infringement issues with McIntosh, a high-end audio equipment manufacturer. McIntosh objected, and Apple ended up paying McIntosh an undisclosed licensing fee to be able to use the name in perpetuity.

Amazon one-click

Amazon patented its one-click web checkout system in 1999. Since then it has licensed use of the technology to other companies – but not to rival Barnes and Noble, which they sued for using a similar feature on their website. Long held up as an example of a patent that should never have been awarded, much of the patent was turned over in 2007, but Amazon still protects what is left of it.

Color trademarks

If you want to make pink insulation, you may get a cease and desist letter from Owens Corning. The same holds true if you want to start a wireless phone company; it would be best to stay away from the T-mobile signature magenta. Yes, it is possible to trademark a color as it relates to a specific product or service.

Verizon Droid

When Verizon wanted to name its new phone Droid, they had to ask permission from Lucasfilm, which patented the term in 1977 – the year Star Wars came out. Verizon currently uses the name under license.

You can read about several more surprising patents at They Own WHAT? Nine Tech Patent and Trademark Oddities.

If you have an original product that you would like to patent, or if you need to make sure you are not infringing on someone else's patent or trademark, please contact Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. for legal counsel.

Recently, The North Face Apparel Corp. initiated a trademark infringement claim against The South Butt, LLC. The North Face is an international clothing and outdoor equipment company. The South Butt is based in Missouri and also markets a number of T-shirts and a jacket displaying the logo, which resembles that of The North Face because both marks use a similar font and display a similar "rainbow graphic." However, the graphic in the South Butt mark is rotated 180 degrees to appear upside down and is positioned to the left of the name instead of the right, as it is with The North Face. South Face has also adopted the slogan "Never stop relaxing," which may be found similar to The North Face's slogan, "Never stop exploring."

The company's founder is a student at the University of Missouri and is said to have created South Butt as a parody of "all the people who mindlessly wear North Face gear because everyone else they know wears it." South Butt clothing is sold exclusively at a local pharmacy in Missouri.

In its Complaint, The North Face alleged that the South Butt mark is confusingly similar to its own mark and that the company has taken advantage of The North Face's reputation and consumer good-will in selling merchandise with the similar mark. South Butt maintains its products are not affiliated with The North Face.

To succeed in a claim of trademark infringement, The North Face will have to show the South Butt mark confused consumers about the source of the products' origin. So far the case does not look good for South Face because a Federal District Judge stated he "did not find it implausible that the marks cannot cause a likelihood of confusion," and denied the defendant's motion to dismiss.

What's in a brand? This chart claims Pepsi has changed its logo its multiple times over the past decades. However, both Pepsi and its competitor Coca-Cola have changed their logos over time. With that said, is a consistent, "timeless" logo stronger? Or is it better to be dynamic and change with the times?

On one hand, rebranding benefits a product or company by increasing its presence in the market. However, a changing logo gives off the impression that the company lacks confidence. "The first choice was wrong, let's try something else." Further, rebranding by a large, widely recognized corporation may open the door to criticism and parody.

In some cases, an altered image can even evoke consumer outrage. For example. Tropicana tried out a new look for its orange juice containers. The new image was sleek and omitted the familiar orange punctured by a straw. Shortly after Tropicana revealed the new packaging and logo, they received overwhelming negative feedback calling the new look ugly and describing it as looking like a "generic bargain brand."

Choosing a trademark or logo is important. It is crucial to develop a mark that is truly representative of the product or service. It is equally important to develop a logo that will transverse through time and will be easily recognized throughout the market

Several former Mail Boxes Etc. franchisees in Florida have been certified as a class, in their California lawsuit against UPS. The Superior Court for Los Angeles County certified the class-action lawsuit in July. The suit was brought by over a hundred former Mail Boxes Etc. franchisees. Known as the Platinum Shield Association, they have claimed that UPS, since acquiring Mail Boxes Etc., has destroyed what was once a growing, stable, and profitable franchise. The former Mail Boxes Etc. franchise owners claim that UPS coerced them into changing from their profitable Mail Boxes Etc. Centers to The UPS Store through a program called "Gold Shield." They also say UPS then tried to destroy the remaining Mail Boxes Etc. franchises that refused to change to The UPS Store by discontinuing national advertising and stopping all support for the Mail Box Etc. franchisees.

Another group of unhappy UPS franchisees is the Brown Shield Association, and they are also litigating against UPS, alleging that UPS has engaged in competition with its own franchisees by offering lower prices to customers who use direct-pickup instead of dropping of packages at local The UPS Stores. Both groups face long fights before their cases will ever see an end. The case led by the Platinum Shield Association started in 2003 and is just at the point of sending out notices to potential members of the class action.

What do you do if you own a franchise and the franchisor sells to another company? Are you obligated to accept changes in your Franchise Agreement? Disputes can be complicated, costly, and take a long time to resolve. If you are purchasing a franchise or you own one already these are issues you might want to find out about by talking to your franchisor and a franchise attorney.

In November 2008, Pepsi introduced its latest and greatest logo. It is blazing forward with its advertising blitz this year with the "Refresh Everything" campaign. The beverage company is pulling all the stops to improve its market share and overtake Coca-Cola.

When originally launched, many people commented that the new logo looked an awful lot like President Obama's campaign emblem. Talk about getting off on the wrong foot! Instead of attracting new people to the brand, the new symbol was already seen as a rip-off. I'd say the more troubling issue is that Pepsi had such a strong logo, that is easily recognized and identified around the world. Why look like an imposter? And why spend the time, money, and energy to re-educate the consuming public?

Not surprisingly, Pepsi owns Tropicana, whose recently introduced new logo was widely panned despite a $35 million dollar investment! Seems to me that a ton of money was spent in both instances for marginal aesthetic gain. Pepsi would do well to invest its resources more judiciously--it appears to be grasping at straws to catch up to Coke!

Do you think Pepsi's rebranding was worth it? Please post your comments or contact me to discuss!

Companies spend millions of dollars enlisting branding firms to revitalize logos they have deemed old and tired. Potential gains include rejuvenating your brand's image, building up new good will among consumers and redefining your place in the market. On the flip side, a perfectly good brand may be tarnished by a questionable makeover.

Major players like Pepsi, Walmart, and UPS all have put their logos under the knife in recent years. It's definitely a balancing act as these businesses have to take care to maintain enough of a connection between the old and new images while modernizing their respective logos to stay fresh.

Also, think of the consumer--with familiarity comes comfort. When updating a logo, will your followers continue to be loyal? How many will turn up their noses at the changes? And for those who never liked to brand anyway, overcoming their existing bias is a gamble.

Notable rebranding misses of late include Kraft, Tropicana and Xerox. A common flaw to all of these redesigns is that they risked the unique qualities of the original in the name of "progress." A company must consider the reaction of its existing customer base as well as that of the new one it wants to bring in!

In the next segment, I'll compare the old and new looks for Pepsi! Stay tuned…

51 of your local Florida Winn-Dixie grocery stores have been remodeled not only on the inside, but the signs outside will be changing as well. The Jacksonville, Florida-based supermarket chain has announced that it is creating a new brand called Fresh Checked Every Day to accompany the renovations. Many of the revamped stores are located in Duval County.

Winn-Dixie currently has about a 13.3% share of the Florida grocery market, behind both Publix and Walmart. The new remodeling plan is a substantial investment, especially considering the fact that Winn-Dixie filed for bankruptcy in 2005. Some of the major changes include larger produce departments, custom sub shops, and greater selections of natural and organic foods.

While it is important to reach different demographics and appeal to a wide consumer base, a business should be careful not to cause brand dilution. For instance, Food Lion, a Mid-Atlantic grocery chain, recently spun off two new brands: Bottom Dollar and Bloom. As a result, customers now suffer some confusion as to Food Lion's identity.

Building a brand image is a long process that takes years and it shouldn't be tarnished by adding sub brands haphazardly! The key to bigger and better business is a strategic growth scheme. Consult a franchise attorney to find out where, when, and how you should expand!

In response to businesses' growing frustration with the limited availability of simple internet domain names, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) plans to sell new top-level domain (TLD) names.

Domain names have historically ended with these popular TLDs: .com, .net, and .edu. Currently, there are only 21 TLDs. ICANN proposes to make "personalized" TLDs available to any business with $185,000. Allowing a business to have their name become the TLD opens up an enormous, and possibly endless, combination for domain names. For example, a famous fast food chain can end their domain name in ".mcdonalds." Subdomain names for the TLD can also be available to identify a particular business, like "bankofamerica.bank."

The availability of personalized TLDs will become a nightmare from the intellectual property enforcement standpoint. The increasing number of domain names means additional time and money to monitor misappropriation, and to protect customers from infringers.

In attempting a preemptive strike against infringers, ICANN proposes that it will review applicants who must argue why they should be awarded a particular TLD. Grounds for rejecting an applicant include: having a TLD that is confusingly similar to another, pursuing an immoral TLD like .xxx, or seeking a culturally or politically insensitive TLD.

Small businesses rely on their proprietary assets, and many of these business depend on global transactions. However, less than one fifth of these businesses realize that their federal trademark and patent protections are limited to the United States. Are your IP assets protected abroad?

Without a doubt, profits fall prey to overseas counterfeiting and piracy. Counterfeiting is the creation of imitation products while piracy involves the unauthorized use or reproduction of software.

Stopfakes.gov is a great resource to help determine whether you should seek international protection. The website features different tool-kits to educate business owners about intellectual property (IP) protection in various foreign countries. Also included are instructions for filing a compliant against international infringers.

Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP) is part of a government effort with a two part objective. The first part is to strengthen IP enforcement throughout the world. The second part is to prevent IP crime throughout the world. STOP, along with other government organizations, provide protection to domestic businesses by regulating U.S. boarders and preventing the importation of counterfeited products, for example.

For more information on international trademarks or patents, contact a trademark attorney who understand the need to work closely with IP counsel abroad.

Caerus Institute of Open Innovation recently hosted a global summit on innovation, patents, and intellectual property. The event, "Intellectual Property Firestorm Meets Open Innovation 2.0", took place at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

The summit brought together leaders from the intellectual property sector and the engineering industry to focus on methods of maximizing the value of mid- to large sized businesses. Experts discussed topics such as open innovation in action, open innovation 2.0, and the implications for intellectual property quality and quantity goals for high tech companies. Attendees also had an opportunity to network at a social/mixer when the conference concluded.

Open Innovation refers to the new idea that businesses can be more profitable by sharing information. Today, businesses are beginning to incorporate outside research and inventions with their own internal research. This is different from the traditional "closed innovation" model where businesses generally kept research and development information secret until market release. For instance, one of the principles of open innovation is working with smart people both inside your company and outside your company.

Congratulations to Metro Diner, a local restaurant in the historic San Marco neighborhood in Jacksonville, Florida! They have registered three trademarks with the State of Florida: their name, their logo, and their slogan, "Where The Locals Eat."

The logo, as you can see, is in the signature dark and light green colors. Their slogan is very apropos to their typical customers who crowd the diner for breakfast and lunch.

Protect your business identity--register your trademarks today. Contact a trademark and business attorney to help you through the process.

So you're in business. You've registered your trademark, identifying the goods or services you're offering. Your business may be restricted to your city, or you may have customers/clients in big cities like Jacksonville or a small town like Palatka. In any event, one of the biggest mistakes my clients make is to file away their trademark's Certificate of Registration, and not give their trademark a second thought.

Florida Statute 495.071 prescribes the duration and renewal procedures for Florida trademarks. Here are some tips:

1. Registration expires 5 years from the date of registration.

2. Renewal can be filed as early as 6 months before the date of registration expiration.

3. Prepare a statement that your trademark is still in use in Florida, for the same class of goods or services as when you filed your registration.

4. Prepare to provide a specimen showing use of your mark in connection with those goods or services.

5. Set aside $87.50 (per class of goods & services) for the filing fee.

I recently presented my seminar, "From Emblems to Empires: Using Trademarks to Promote, Protect, and Produce Business." The audience were the members of IMPACTJax, a young professionals' group that is part of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce.

I discussed the importance of promoting a business name by building a brand name. The goodwill and reputation should then be protected through trademark or patent registration. Only then can defensive and offensive strategies have any teeth against potential infringers. Once a business achieves a level of success with those trademarked or patented assets, I explain why franchising the operation is among other options for expanding the business. In the alternative, for entrepreneurs interested in minimizing the risk of owning a business, I also discuss the advantages of buying a franchise.

Couldn't make it to the original presentation? Contact me to see when this seminar will be presented at a venue near you.

While registering your trademark is not mandatory, registration offers many advantages. The following only scratch the surface at the benefits of trademark registration:

It gives notice to the public and to your competitors that you claim ownership of the trademark. An owner of a registered trademark is presumed to be the rightful owner, unless proven otherwise.

If someone else tries to use the same or a similar trademark, you can then assert your ownership rights. This can be accomplished by sending a cease and desist letter or filing a claim for infringement.

You can allow others to use your trademark by licensing the rights to use your trademarks. You can control the way your trademark is used: for particular purposes, in certain places, or for a given length of time. This strategy is fundamental in business growth, business development, and franchising.

Registration with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office provides a basis for you to apply for trademark registration in other countries. On a related note, you can prevent infringing foreign goods from being imported.

Businesses often use their business name to create a logo. Both the name and the logo are trademarks identifying goods and/or services. Should they be filed on the same trademark application?

No. Even if the logo is a stylistic version of the business name, if they can be used separately, they should each be filed on separate trademark applications. Filing an application for the logo protects only the graphic representation of the business name. To protect the business name itself, separate trademark registration will protect the use of that name, regardless of the font, color, or manner in which the business name is being presented.

Since 2007, Philadelphia Wine School has held a culinary and wine competition which it has dubbed Sommelier Smackdown. World Wrestling Entertainment has its own long-running TV show called SmackDown and caught wind of the other use when Philadelphia Wine School applied for a trademark for its name.

WWE is actively trying to put Philadelphia Wine School's use to an end but Philadelphia Wine School doesn't plan on caving and is prepared to fight the opposition. Philadelphia Wine School seems to be banking on the idea that "smackdown" by itself is a generic term that cannot be registered.

Even if the generic defense doesn't pan out, I think that WWE won't be able to show that consumers will be confused as to the source of Philadelphia Wine School's event. Call me crazy but I don't really see Hulk Hogan sitting around, sampling a '52 Merlot!

What do you think of this face-off? Please post your comments or contact me to discuss!