Backstory on the Fig Newton - Fig Newmans license

So I was reading my wife's Marie Claire yesterday and came across this interesting backstory on the licensing of the Fig Newton trademark. [Yes, I'm not ashamed to say that I read my wife's magazines. I'm a bit of a magazine junkie.]

Newman's Own Organics sell a fig cookie called Fig Newmans™. According to NOO's website:

The new cookie wouldn't have come to fruition without the cooperation of Kraft, as the name is being used under license from them. "We really salute Kraft for all their help with our Fig Newmans™," states Paul Newman.

Here's what Paul's daughter Nell told Marie Claire about the licensing:

Q: How did you ever convince Nabisco, the original owner of Fig Newtons, to let you use the name “Fig Newmans” for your fig bars?

A: My dad wrote a very sweet, short letter to the president of Nabisco that said, “My daughter’s got a great idea for a product. Could we sit down and talk about a small royalty deal? All the profits will go to charity.” And the guy just sent back a letter that said, “Dear Paul, I love what you’re doing, we’ll just say it’s a dollar a year, and I’d love to sit down and have a beer with you.” The legal department of Nabisco had a fit, but there was nothing they could do.

Way to go Nabisco/Kraft. From this, they've earned some good trademark karma and some good PR to boot.

Technorati Tags: trademark, celebrities, licensing, PR, karma

Copyright issues on the Trademark Blog

Venturing off the trademark path, Marty Schwimmer has a nice post regarding the use of music in audio visual works. His short post illustrates the complexities involved.

BrandWeek Article on Team Colors

There's a nice article on BrandWeek regarding the recent string of victories schools have been racking up in enforcing their school trademarks.

As these lawsuits show, colleges and universities are on the legal warpath to protect their trademarks. Why? It's something that any marketing major in these schools likely learns in freshman year: Licensing translates to serious revenue.

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The message is one that extends to sports marketers everywhere, and it is a warning. The free rides you've been able to take on college coattails (be they green-and-white, crimson-and-gold or scarlet-and-gray) are over. The LSU v. Smack Apparel decision has made this clear—in black-and-white.

Technorati Tags: trademark, enforcement, sports, branding, licensing