BY OLIVER HERZFELD, FORBES IP COUNSEL, MARCH 7, 2014 The New York Times, the BBC and the Guardian have all reported on chefs who either discourage, regulate or outright prohibit customers from taking pictures of the food they order. The chefs’ grievances range from a breach of etiquette and disruption to ambiance caused by customers climbing on chairs and engaging in other antics to get the best angle, irritation and annoyance suffered by other patrons subjected to the glare of flashes, poor quality pictures reflecting negatively on the chefs’ creations, and the fact that photograph-taking elongates dining times causing a loss of business through fewer turns.
Read MoreYAHOO CELEBRITY, FEBRUARY 22, 2014 Michael Stone, the CEO of Beanstalk (a top branding and licensing company), notes that, "Snooki's personal appearances command a reported $20,000. Her product updates, which are sent to her almost 7 million Twitter followers and over 10 million Facebook fans, tend to create frenzy. So is she branching into products like other celebrities? Yes. But is she reliable long-term, or just a rapidly burning flame (the latter being a common characteristic of reality TV stars)? That remains to be seen."
Read MoreBY OLIVER HERZFELD, FORBES IP COUNSEL, FEBRUARY 14, 2014 In its February 17, 2014 edition, the National Enquirer’s front page story claimed playwright David Bar Katz was Hoffman’s gay lover, that he had seen Hoffman freebase cocaine the night before Hoffman’s death, and that he had seen Hoffman use heroin on a number of other occasions. Bar Katz has denied all of the Enquirer’sassertions and responded with a defamation lawsuit seeking $5 million in compensatory damages and another $45 million in punitive damages.
Read MoreFebruary 3, 2014, New York, NY., – Leading global brand licensing and brand extension agency, Beanstalk, today announced that Rachel Terrace has been promoted to the position of Senior Vice President, Brand Management, effective immediately. Terrace will expand on her previous role as Vice President, Brand Management by spearheading the strategic development and implementation of Beanstalk’s U.S. clients’ licensing programs.
Read MoreJanuary 27, 2014, New York, NY., – Leading global brand extension agency, Beanstalk, today announced that Allison Ames has been promoted to the position of President of Beanstalk.
Read MoreJanuary 13, 2014, Towson, U.S., – Today BLACK+DECKER introduced a new global brand identity for its consumer branded power tools, outdoor power equipment, and home products.
Read MoreJanuary 14, 2014, New York, NY., - HGTV HOME™ announced today the launch of its HGTV HOME™ Baby furniture collection—now available for purchase exclusively in 86 buybuy BABY® stores in the United States. The first two offerings in the furniture collection—“Grayson” and “Hayden”—feature fresh, beautiful designs with gender neutral options that will complement any nursery décor.
Read MoreJanuary 6, 2014, New York, NY., – Beanstalk, a leading brand licensing agency and consultancy, has signed the famous Got Milk? brand for representation. Beanstalk will leverage the brand’s 90% awareness level to extend the trademark to both food and non-food products. The goal of the program is to drive awareness of Got Milk?, increase fluid milk consumption, as well as to ensure that drinking milk is top of mind for consumers in the non-dairy aisles of retail. While the licensing program is targeted at all consumers, the primary focus is families with children.
Read MoreBY OLIVER HERZFELD, FORBES IP COUNSEL, JANUARY 2, 2014 - A morals clause is a contract provision that prohibits, and provides a remedy for, a party’s illegal, immoral or otherwise undesirable conduct. Morals clauses commonly appear in contracts for the professional services of performers, athletes and other famous personalities. Companies insist on morals clauses to protect their reputation and interests from being adversely affected by the acts of their endorsers, service providers and other contractual counterparties. But what happens in the event of a corporate scandal or when company representatives behave badly? Shouldn’t performers, athletes and other famous personalities seek morals clause mutuality to protect their own reputations from being adversely affected by the companies that engage them?
Read MoreBY OLIVER HERZFELD, FORBES IP COUNSEL, DECEMBER 9, 2013 - Many people consider email to be an informal form of communication. As a result, offers, counter-offers and terms of proposed agreements are frequently exchanged via email with the hope and expectation that they are for negotiation purposes only. The question is, could such email messages be deemed to be legal, valid and binding agreements that are enforceable against senders in accordance with their terms? The New York Appellate Division in the recent case of Forcelli v. Gelco provides some important guidance regarding the answer to this question.
Read MoreBY OLIVER HERZFELD, FORBES IP COUNSEL, OCTOBER 24, 2013 - On Tuesday October 22, 2013, a sculpture of a sphinx made of foam, cement and cinder-blocks appeared on a sidewalk in Queens, New York surrounded by a wide pool of putrid water. On his website, the mysterious and anonymous artist known as Banksy claimed ownership of the work, “Everything but the kitchen Sphinx”, stating: “No turn unstoned. A 1/36 scale replica of the great Sphinx of Giza made from smashed cinderblocks. You’re advised not to drink the replica Arab spring water.” According to the New York Post, an art gallery representative paid the owner of a nearby auto-glass shop, Bernardo Veles, to recruit a team to dismantle the sculpture and load it onto a moving truck that quickly carted it away. Approximately two dozen Banksy fans observed the taking in dismay. One of the members of Mr. Veles’ team sold a brick from the base of the sculpture to a spectator for $100.
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