You might think of it as two of the biggest schoolyard bullies having a go at one another to see who will be the last bully standing.

The much-anticipated Apple vs. Samsung patent infringement trial kicked off this week and it promises to be a show of mythic proportions. What's the beef? Well, Apple brought suit in April 2011 against Samsung, claiming the Korean company essentially copied its iPhone and iPad. Samsung counter-sued, indicating that it was Apple who in fact infringed on Samsung's patents.Continue reading...

Would you buy a T-shirt with a Latin Kings gang symbol on it? How about a backpack with the Bloods gang sign? Would you even try and trademark such a symbol? The branding of illegal activity is usually done underground, consisting of tattoos and graffiti mostly. So why French company, Early Flicker, would try and trademark the Anonymous logo and slogan is un peu bizarre.

Tweeted by @Asher Wolf yesterday, it appears Apollinaire Auffret from Early Flicker applied to the Institut National De La Propriete Industrielle (INPI) to protect the logo and slogan. The hacktivist group's logo consists of a headless man in a suit with a question mark for a head, standing before a globe and a wreath. The slogan reads "Anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us." Early Flicker is an eBay store that has a range of different product categories, including t-shirts, handbags, and accessories.

The little e-tialer is taking on a big dog with its latest bid. Anonymous condones crime by illegaly releasing protected IP and temporarily bringing down large corporate and brands' websites, but don't like any legal moves that impinge on their rights. So, naturally, Anonymous has already issued this response:Continue reading...

It’s becoming much more difficult for Apple to maintain any element of surprise with its new products, although the brand's new "Genius" commercials running during NBC's Olympics coverage in the U.S. have been drawing attention — although not as much as the speculation around the new iPhone reveal as soon as Sept. 12th, with video and images leaking all over the web.

Until then, Apple fans are enjoying the spectator sport that is Apple and Samsung squaring off in a patent dispute that kicks off in court today and has been making public key design prototypes and secrets they'd rather not reveal. Now the pair's IP spat has dragged Sony into the fray.

In order to plead its side in the federal court getting underway in San Francisco today, Samsung had "charged Apple with copying Sony smartphone and Walkman designs with its iPhone," according to CNET. Apple, however, has fought back with iPhone concept images from 2005 called "Purple," while the Sony design in question came out in 2006, according to Apple.Continue reading...

The Dark Knight Rises' opening this week makes it as good a time as any to ask, do you know what the difference is between Gotham and Gotham City?

The former term associated with Batman/Bruce Wayne's hometown is not trademarked. But a recent filing by the Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation aims to change that. It also raises questions about why the filing wasn't made by DC Comics or Dark Knight movie studio, Warner Bros.Continue reading...

China is the second largest economy in the world, and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse!); but who's got the time?! A weekly potpourri of ten reads that will make you look like a keen China observer during any conversation about China.

As China's trade growth slows (see WSJ.com video report above), read on for Bain's mainland shopper intel, a "wine city" for China's nouveau wine connoisseurs and more: Continue reading...

For marketers these days, it's all about digital and taking advantage of all it has to offer. Adidas, though, is pulling its wares off two of the web's major e-commerce hubs — Amazon and eBay — because it's convinced such sites are cheapening its image and damaging its brand value. According to the UK's Marketing Week, the ban goes into effect in January and will extend to its Reebok brand.

Adidas, on a high coming out of Euro 2012 and heading into the Olympics, isn't the only major brand that's pulling back on e-commerce sites — Nike and Asics are also restricting Internet sales, a move that has drawn the attention of German competition authorities. "Adidas isn't the first, and they're definitely not going to be the last to do what they did," said Wes Sheperd, CEO of Channel IQ, an online services provider catering to manufacturers, distributors and retailers, according to AuctionBytes.com. "There's a storm brewing here."Continue reading...

Fox has had a hit for itself in the last few years with its “Glee” franchise that will enter into a whole new phase next season as a few of its regulars have finally graduated and will be moving along to their new lives. Before that happens, though, the show’s producer, 20th Century Fox, will be facing off against somebody who isn’t such a fan of the show: the UK's Glee Club chain of comedy clubs.

Owner Mark Tughan says “he will expose the ‘hypocrisy’ of Rupert Murdoch when a multi-million pound trademark battle gets to court,” according to the Birmingham Post. And he's not joking.Continue reading...

Apple's iPad trademark nightmare in China is over. The AP reports that, after what seemed like endless haggling, face giving and face loss, Apple has agreed to settle and pay Taiwan's Proview for the trademark rights to "iPad" for what is now Apple's second largest market, China. For anyone with experience in China, the deal looks a lot like a typical buying experience.

Proview — the trademark seller — saw a 老外 (lǎowài) it thought it could rip off and set its price at $400 million. Apple, revealing itself to in fact be a 老油条 (lăoyóutiáo), countered (rumor has it) by offering $16 million. Proview threw up its arms, laughed, complained that it couldn't feed its family for that price, and countered. This went on for a long time until Proview finally offered the trademark for $60 million, and would throw in a "I Climbed the Great Wall" t-shirt for free. Apple took it.

It's a win for Apple, and not a loss for Proview. But it may prove to be a disaster for other brands in China, as Apple's payoff may just embolden China's already extremely bold trademark squatters.Continue reading...