Blackletter

On this episode of Monday Minutes, Tom discusses how one can trademark a sound. Sounds like MGM’s lion, Tarzan’s call and even Homer Simpson’s “D’oh” are trademarked under the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Tom explains the certain qualifications the sound must meet in order to be patented. He also distinguishes how these sounds differ from ones such as 60 Minutes ticking and why those are not protected.  

Season 6 of the Blackletter podcast is wrapping up! Today, we take a look at the highlights of this past season, from notable guests to complex topics. Tom discusses subjects like incorporating charity into business, pivoting during the pandemic, empowering women and much more. The Blackletter guests share their advice to business owners on how and why they should network, grow and fail forward.  

Philanthropy, Pivoting and Improvement:   

Philanthropy (1:04) 

Tom chats about the importance of philanthropy with Braven Greenelsh, Sharon Virts and Peter Burnett. Braven discusses how he has integrated philanthropy into his business Threegood, while Sharon chats about the call to action. Peter speaks on practicing kindness and community.  

Pivoting during the Pandemic (4:19) 

Ingrid Vanderveldt explains her campaign Empowering a Billion Women, and how her network rose to meet the challenges of the pandemic. Scott Harris discusses how he pivoted his business to provide sanitizing alcohol.  

Women in Business (8:00) 

Ingrid shares how integrating women into business benefits the economy, and what we can do to help activate them.  

Advice for Business Owners (12:37) 

Sabrina Shafer advocates that every business owner remains honest but harness the data at their fingertips. Kristina Bouweiri believes that networking, groups and learning hold the key to self-improvement, growth and success.  

Fail Forward (17:58) 

Running towards something is always better than running away from something. Larry Sharpe, the Managing Director of The Neo-Sage Group talks about finding love, respect and purpose. He warns entrepreneurs about the “employee mindset” and how to overcome it.   

On this episode of Monday Minutes, Tom discusses French Dressing, the only dressing codified in the code of Federal Regulations. After a petition submitted by the Associations for Dressings and Sauces in 2020, the FDA has allowed the dressing to change, evolve and improve. Listen to the episode to hear more on the case.  

According to Swiss guidelines, gruyère must be made in the region around Gruyères, Switzerland, which has produced the cheese since the 12th century. In the United States, however, gruyère can be made anywhere, according to a federal court ruling that was made public last week. It was the latest development in a long-running legal tangle between American cheese producers and producers in Switzerland and France over what makes gruyère gruyère. Listen as Tom discusses the holes in Swiss cheesemakers' legal arguments. 

On this episode of Monday Minutes, Tom chats about how the writer Charles Dickens related to the law. In the 1800s, he had to sue for copyright infringement, as someone was selling copies of The Christmas Carole without his permission. Additionally, his novel Bleak House led to legal reform in the UK. Listen to the episode to hear more about the case and how the UK law relates to laws we still have in the U.S.

On this episode of Monday Minutes, Tom discusses a case involving the sculptor Michael Hayden and the famous Cicciolina. Ciciolina took photos with some of Hayden’s sculptures without a license, helping to launch the career of her ex-husband Mr. Koons. Interestingly, the photographs were taken decades ago and Hayden is only suing now. 

On today’s episode, Tom gives an update for the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020, which will go into effect this December. The new features include a reexamination proceeding and an expungement. Tom explains what the new expungement proceeding is and what it accomplishes. Listen to the Monday Morning Minute to hear more on what the reexamination process looks like and what both new proceedings change.