Samsung produced a Superbowl commercial that featured Paul Rudd and Seth Rogan, to ultimately shed light on the absurdity of the patent war recently led by Apple. Although they didn't cite Apple by name, the commercial was a clear attempt to make a jab at their arch nemesis who led the recent litigation campaign against them for allegedly infringing its design patents. The commercial featured a witty conversation in which Paul Rudd and Seth Rogan attempt to say the word "Superbowl" and the names of the teams playing, but are stopped because those terms are trademarked and Samsung could get sued. Instead they have to refer to the teams by using alternative names such as "the San Francisco 50 minus ones" and the "Baltimore BlackBirds." This comedic depiction of the sensitivity surrounding patents and trademarks reveals that when advertising products and designing features, a lot of precaution must be taken to avoid getting sued. This conversation related to our class discussion regarding the various types of intellectual property and how easily they could be infringed without even intending to.
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2240800/samsungs-superbowl-ad-teaser-mocks-apples-patent-war?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Samsung%27s+Superbowl+ad+teaser+mocks+Apple%27s+patent+war
I saw this commercial during the super bowl, but I didn't really make the same connections you did concerning trademarks. I agree that this could indeed be a mockery of Apple's recent vendetta against Samsung. Good observation!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed that commercial too especially the "Can we say San Francisco 50-1?" part. I think that some legal cases are over dramatized in the name of infringement. I looked up the case and read some of the results:
ReplyDelete-Samsung guilty of infringing the “pinch and zoom” ’915 patent on a number of devices, but not all
-Samsung guilty of infringing the “double-tap to zoom” ’163 patent on a number of devices, but not all.
-The jury has just ruled that Apple should be awarded $1,051,855,000 in damages for willfully violating Apple’s patents and trade dress.
I think I'm going to go out and trademark "San Francisco 50-1'ers" and "El Plato Supreme." Think I can make money from this? After all, it seems patents, trademarks and copyrights, at least in the eye of the public, have begun to be more noticed for its uses in suing and making money over generating innovation which is what it is partially meant to do.
ReplyDeleteI think some of the copyright / trademark / tv rights has gone a little too far. I was sad to find out they would not be showing the game out in the open in SF. Part of sports teams is the community around the sport, and when a city makes it to the superbowl, I believe the community should be able to watch the game on large screens out in public. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2010/01/will-your-big-screen-super-bowl-party-violate-copyright-law/
ReplyDelete