Can you identify the invention in this photo?

Hint #1: Yes, that’s the logo for the San Francisco Giants (Major League Baseball).

Hint #2: Yes, that’s a water pipe.

Hint #3:  Why is the water-pipe crooked?  It seems to serve no purpose to have an otherwise straight pipe make such a twist.

Hint #4: San Francisco.  This photo was taken by Attorney Anthony Bourget in the back hallway behind the players’ dugout at AT&T Park in San Francisco.  The photo was taken during the recent International Trademark Association (INTA) convention.

Answer:  This twisted water pipe is an ingenious example of attempts to minimize the impacts of earthquake ground-shifting.  The pipe is designed to flex in multiple directions so that shifts in the stadium’s foundation will not automatically cause the water pipe to rupture. 

Also shown is an expansion joint in the wall of the hallway.  The stadium was built on four separate “floating” foundations, and the twisted pipe and expansion joints are placed at the foundation joints.

This is one example of “inventiveness” in operation.  Even during tours of baseball stadiums at INTA trademark receptions we are on the lookout for cleverness (together with cool branding examples).

Warner Brothers was recently sued by a tattoo artist who claims he owns the copyright on the tattoo worn by former boxer Mike Tyson and Ed Helms in Hangover II.  The tattoo artist, S. Victor Whitmill, claims that Warner Brothers infringed his copyright by copying the tattoo and placing it on the face of actor Ed Helms in Hangover II.  Whitmill attempted to stop the film’s release but was denied a preliminary injunction.  Warner Brothers plans to eliminate the tattoo from the movie after its theatrical run, thus eliminating any further alleged damages to Whitmill from his copyrighted tattoo appearing in the film.  Given Warner Brothers’ plans, it appears that the primary issue to be resolved is the amount of damages sustained by the tattoo artist.

In response to legislation enacted in 2010, the Department of Commerce (DOC) undertook a study to determine the extent to which small businesses may be harmed by abusive trademark enforcement tactics.  The DOC reported in its April 2011 report that it was unable to determine whether small businesses are disproportionately harmed by abusive enforcement tactics.  Because trademark enforcement is a private property rights litigation issue, abusive tactics are best addressed through the litigation system.  However, to the extent that small businesses are adversely affected by abusive tactics, the DOC recommends increased opportunities for small businesses to obtain education and legal advice and enhanced government resources to educate the public and small businesses on intellectual property rights.   The DOC’s full report is available at Commerce Department Report to Congress on Trademark Litigation Tactics.

Recently, domain names featuring the country code top-level domain assigned to Colombia, .CO, have become available for registration by individuals and businesses around the world. The .CO extension offers an excellent opportunity for businesses to register highly recognizable domain names.  Feel free to contact one of our attorneys if you or your company have an interest in registering any .CO domain names.