Friday, February 6, 2015

Marketing and Legal Liabilities: A look at the cases

In the world of advertising, communications, and marketing, people are very protective of their intellectual property, time, and ideas.  From trademarking logos and slogans, to copyrighting different forms of art and protecting trade secrets, the communications industry is very concerned with the possible legal liabilities that come with working in this business.  Numerous cases can serve as examples or cautionary tales when it comes to these subjects, three of them which especially call to my attention.

In early 2014, a very interesting trademarking case came about when founder and CEO of LRN, Dov Seidman sued Greek yogurt company Chobani and their advertising firm Droga5 for their use of the word “how” in Chobani’s “How Matters” campaign.  Seidman claimed that LRN had trademarked the use of the word “how” that Chobani was implementing for their campaign, which appointed to the ethical way the product was created, just as LRN had done in the past.  Chobani denied they knew about this trademark protection by LRN and asked the court to deny it.  Being that the word “how” falls under the generic word category when it comes to trademarking, the question lies on whether or not LRN should be able to trademark their use of the word.  Since Chobani and LRN are not competitors and do not share market or any of the same industry, is Chobani using the word “how” in this context hurting LRN’s business or confusing their clients?  This case only leads us to think, what else can be trademarked this way?  It all depends on whether or not the company can show that consumers associate the generic word to their specific product or service, and to nothing else.

Another controversial trademark case involves The Walt Disney Company and one of their upcoming Pixar animated movies inspired by the Mexican holiday of “Día de los Muertos.”  Disney is set to release the animated feature later this year, however, when the company tried to trademark the term “Día de los Muertos” to protect any potential movie title, online communities got heated.  After several petitions were filed and communities all around the country put pressure on Disney, they decided to withdraw the trademark filing and change the title of the film.  Trademarking a national holiday’s name and profiting from not permitting its use in its very own country proved to be an insensitive and disrespectful move from The Walt Disney Company to the Latin American community.

Leaving the topic of trademarks and going into another important and relevant matter in the communications world is the significance of partnership agreements.  Everything in communications and marketing revolves around partnership and teamwork, so it is no surprise that this matter is so influential in today’s industry.  A controversial and pertinent case is that of the creation of Facebook.  Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, has been part of this dispute for over 10 years.  Since he launched the website in 2004, Zuckerberg has been accused by three former Harvard students of stealing the idea for the website from them.  Zuckerberg’s side states that he was approached about working on a website with Tyler Winklevoss, Cameron Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra, but never had the time to work on it, before he released his (previously though of) idea: The Facebook.  This case states the importance of a partnership agreement and points to what could happen if no actual clauses or contracts have been officially drafted.  As Massachusetts Judge Douglas P. Woodlock stated in this case, “dorm room chit-chat does not make a contract.”  This social network dispute has been going on for over a decade and even though a settlement was reached, there are still many sides to the story from different parties.  This case specifically shows the importance of a well-written contract, even for projects that start out small, such as Facebook started out. 


After researching on these and several other cases pertaining certain liabilities in the industry, my views on legal ramifications have changed.  As a potential business owner, copyrighting and partnership agreements will be some of the many legal liabilities to watch for.  In the marketing and advertising industry researching trademarks and knowing the ins and outs of it will be crucial, all the while maintaining a respectful and compassionate view on the world.  Ultimately, my business in this industry will rely on partnerships and teamwork, which will only be able to function correctly under clear, specific, and fair partnership and employee contracts.  

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