OKGo vs Post cereal in a trademark for the band name
Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2023 11:29 am
Here's something I wasn't expecting -
OK Go had asked Post cereal to not use their name to avoid confusion with their expected line of 'Just add water' cereal cups.
Sounds normal, right?
Post asked for a preemptive ruling to allow them to acquire the name.
TMBG summed it up here https://twitter.com/tmbg/status/1616147577618956293
Trademarks can be an interesting thing - and the band doesn't want people to think they endorsed the cereal they had nothing to do with.
We'll see how it goes, but you'd think Post would have picked a better and more creative name than a 25 year old band that will honestly just piss people off. Their lawyers also tossed some snark in their request towards the band.
+++ https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/a- ... r-AA16EwAx
Post, in its complaint, filed Jan. 13 in Minnesota federal court, says the band has been threatening legal action over the product. Post is seeking “declaratory judgment” from the courts, which essentially clear the company from any trademark rights claims.
“Without resolution by this court, Post will be unfairly forced to continue investing in its new OK GO! brand while under the constant threat of unfounded future litigation by defendants,” Post wrote in its filing.
Last September, the band’s attorney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Post, saying the cereal bowl’s name would imply endorsement from the band, which has previous advertising deals with Sony, Chevrolet and others. It had even, it noted, done a series of promotional videos for another Post product: Honey Bunches of Oats.
That last argument didn’t carry a lot of weight with Post attorneys, who responded to OK Go’s attorney saying: “Given the length of time that has passed since that limited collaboration over a decade ago, the very small number of views indicated on the YouTube videos you referenced, and the general consuming public’s rather short attention span, it will also have absolutely no bearing on consumer perception of Post’s mark OK GO! used with cereal or cereal-based snacks, and will not lead to any mistaken association with OK Go.”
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OK Go had asked Post cereal to not use their name to avoid confusion with their expected line of 'Just add water' cereal cups.
Sounds normal, right?
Post asked for a preemptive ruling to allow them to acquire the name.
TMBG summed it up here https://twitter.com/tmbg/status/1616147577618956293
Trademarks can be an interesting thing - and the band doesn't want people to think they endorsed the cereal they had nothing to do with.
We'll see how it goes, but you'd think Post would have picked a better and more creative name than a 25 year old band that will honestly just piss people off. Their lawyers also tossed some snark in their request towards the band.
+++ https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/a- ... r-AA16EwAx
Post, in its complaint, filed Jan. 13 in Minnesota federal court, says the band has been threatening legal action over the product. Post is seeking “declaratory judgment” from the courts, which essentially clear the company from any trademark rights claims.
“Without resolution by this court, Post will be unfairly forced to continue investing in its new OK GO! brand while under the constant threat of unfounded future litigation by defendants,” Post wrote in its filing.
Last September, the band’s attorney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Post, saying the cereal bowl’s name would imply endorsement from the band, which has previous advertising deals with Sony, Chevrolet and others. It had even, it noted, done a series of promotional videos for another Post product: Honey Bunches of Oats.
That last argument didn’t carry a lot of weight with Post attorneys, who responded to OK Go’s attorney saying: “Given the length of time that has passed since that limited collaboration over a decade ago, the very small number of views indicated on the YouTube videos you referenced, and the general consuming public’s rather short attention span, it will also have absolutely no bearing on consumer perception of Post’s mark OK GO! used with cereal or cereal-based snacks, and will not lead to any mistaken association with OK Go.”
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