MEMBERS
MAKING THE NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2002 NEWSFLASH
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This month represents a historic time to remind us of threads of life for democracy and freedom that built our country. We would like to invite all of our members to join us for a Moment of Silence during the NABE luncheon on September 10th, at Noon, for all the Men, Women and Children who have become our Heroes and for those we lost during the Events of September 11th 2001… Warmest regards, Ssusan Forte O’Neill |
NEW MEMBERS DRIVE Mobile Entertainment, a division of Mobile Entertainment Communication and Information Systems Incorporated (MECIS Inc.), has been in business since 1999 and is based in the city of Garden Grove. It serves as the retail arm of the company, providing top-quality mobile entertainment solutions to consumers across the nation. As the parent company, MECIS Inc. is a designer, importer and manufacturer of mobile entertainment systems for automobiles. Since the introduction of small LCD monitors into the automotive market some five years ago, the management team has been involved in designing systems for this new booming industry. For more information please contact: Andrew
H. Ferguson - President & CEO - mecisinc@aol.com or
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Dr. Randall C. Wetzel and Chris Baker, RN of the Laura P. and Leland K. Whittier VPICU of Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles add Innovative Medical Knowledge to the Technolink Association as New Members. The
Laura P. and Leland K. Whittier VPICU (Virtual Pediatric Intensive
Care Unit), led by Randall C. Wetzel, MB, BS, MsBus., FAAP,
FCCM, is located at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.
For more information and contacts please access our organization
virtually at http://www.vpicu.org
or contact Chris Baker at 323.669.5408. |
The
primary goal of the VPICU is to create common information space
for the international community of caregivers providing critical
care for children. Every critically ill child will have access
to the Virtual PICU which will provide the essential information
required to optimize their outcome. This will be accomplished
through the creation of extended databases, education, quality
enhancement, and improvement of access to pediatric critical
care services.
TECHNOLINK ASSOCIATION•
NEWSFLASH
CREATING
ASSETS WITH YOUR ADVERTISING DOLLARS
Did you know that assets could be created by the way you advertise?
The asset is trade dress and its associated good will. Trade
dress is simply the “look” of a product that customers
learn to associate with a particular single company. When a
customer sees a product with that “look,” they conclude
that the product came from a single particular source. At the
point when a significant number of consumers associate a “look”
with a company, a trade dress asset is created. This asset gives
the owner the exclusive right to use that “look”
on products to the exclusion of all others, just like the exclusive
rights of a trademark. The shape of the Coke® bottle is
a good example. Several recent Supreme Court cases set out the
way that these trade dress rights are be created. First, the
trade dress feature must be non-functional. A feature that serves
a function and is not otherwise So where does advertising come in? Advertising is a powerful tool to create secondary meaning. So here’s how to do it. First, select a particular non-functional “trade dress” (color, shape, or feature). Next, create advertising that features trade dress and tells consumers that whenever they select a product with that trade dress, they will be selecting a product that comes from your company. In so doing, people will quickly begin to associate that feature with your company. Nexium, a prescription drug currently advertised, is an excellent illustration of using advertising to create a trade dress asset. The Nexium advertisements repeatedly point to the “purple pill.” The advertising is effectively teaching consumers that there is a connection between the source and the purple color. Is so doing, they are creating exclusive rights to use the color purple on this pill as an identifying trade dress. However, a caution is in order. Advertisements must be carefully reviewed to make sure that an enthusiastic marketing person does not create some function to associate with the trade dress feature. Any advertising that does this will very likely destroy the trade dress. The advice of trademark counsel can be a valuable resource both in the selection of trade dress features and in the review of advertising copy. For
more information please contact Greg Wood at 213.892.9200
or e-mail: gwood@fulbright.com
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protected
by a patent can be lawfully copied. Second, the customers must
learn (be taught) that a particular “look” will
always come from a particular company. This is called “secondary
meaning.” A non-functional “look” that has
acquired “secondary meaning” becomes a valuable
corporate asset.
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