New York, New York — the city so nice they had to name it twice!
Always got a kick out of that. New York is many things, but “nice” is about the least applicable imaginable adjective. And even granting the point: How, exactly, does niceness require, or merit, or otherwise connect with redundant nomenclature?
I mention this because I am duty-bound to promote an IP panel taking place tomorrow – TUESDAY, May 20th under the auspices and in the facility of an institution that people — even the people who run it — call the “City Bar” or the “New York City Bar Association.” Except that it’s really the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, just as it says on the door of its fine “House of the Association” (see the pic at left) and in the small print.
Well, what with titles and names being so intimately related to branding and trademarks, I can’t get past that. Because it makes a lot of sense. After all, if New York is the city so nice they “had” to name it twice, maybe the City Bar is so nice that they — by the same mysterious logic — had to give it a second name too. Specifically they gave it one that, unlike its real name, doesn’t have the word “of” in it… thrice. Which, tripping – off – the – tongue – wise, isn’t all that nice, really. To wit — say it loud and proud:
The Association OF the Bar OF the City OF New York
Surely I have made my point.
No, no, that was not my point at all. This was my point, actually — there will be a day-long program (PDF of the program here) this comning Tuesday, May 20th at the (oh, what the heck!) City Bar called Trademark Talk, in which I will be participating as a panelist, incidentally. To wit:
Trademark Talk: Hot Topics and Recent Developments in Trademark Law
Can’t make it to [the] INTA this year? This full-day CLE program in the Great Hall on May 20 will cover a wide variety of topics, from recent developments in Chinese trademark law, an update on gTLDs, clearing and using marks on social media, trademark prosecution, advertising issues, and fraud on the PTO (with ethics credit). Panelists will include leading trademark law practitioners, both in-house and outside counsel.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014 9-4:40 pm

Speaking of “leading trademark law practitioners, both in-house and outside counsel,” I will be doing a duo panel with one of those, Eric Prager of K&L Gates, called “Trademark Year in Review: Notable Decisions.” Naturally because it’s called “Notable Decisions,” I insisted that we also talk a little about cases where there were no decisions, too, but which did garner notice. After all, they’re part of the “Trademark Year” too — in fact, a bigger part, arguably, than the cases that are decided. Eric, a gentleman and a scholar, courteously acquiesced in this suggestion, which was made in a manner not merely as menacing as the “suggestion” by a squeegee man that your windshield needs cleaning. (That was just to round out the New York theme.)
So, that’s all good; nice, even — yet, in this instance, once really should do it. But you’ve got to be there next Tuesday! So register here.