In pop culture, "last" often just means "for now." In intellectual property law, it means something much more concrete. In this episode of IP Goes Pop®, Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue explore what "last" really means across film, TV, music, and IP law. From The Last Samurai and The Last Jedi to Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Last of Us, "last" builds emotion, but rarely signals the end.

In IP law, it does. The hosts explain how rights expire, can be lost early, become generic, or change by statute. Featuring examples like Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patent and It's a Wonderful Life, this episode breaks down why IP rights don't last forever, and why that matters.

For full show notes and to explore more episodes, please visit www.vklaw.com/newsroom-podcasts.

In this episode:

• 🎬 Films like The Last Samurai, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Last Jedi—final… or not?

• 📺 How Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Last of Us use "last" to build tension

• ⏳ The four ways IP rights end: expiration, early loss, genericide, and statutory change

• 📞 The expiration of Bell's telephone patent—and what followed

• 🎄 How a missed renewal helped make It's a Wonderful Life a holiday staple

(02:10) Firsts Before Lasts

• Season 7, Episode 1: We're #1! Intellectual Property Firsts

(02:10) Movies With "Last" in the Title

(09:33) Television "Lasts"

(11:20) Musical "Lasts"

(13:40) Four Ways IP Rights Can End

(16:40) Patent Expiration: Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patent

(21:03) Copyright Renewal Failure: It's a Wonderful Life

(28:50) Trademark Genericide

(33:34) Legislative Extensions

(37:02) Final Thoughts

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"If you're not first, you're last!" This week on IP Goes Pop!®, co-hosts Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue chase down "IP firsts" and explain why these origin stories still matter to creators, brands, and inventors today.

The episode opens with our hosts' personal firsts (early movie-theater memories, ticket-counter hijinks). Then the discussion shifts to media milestones, including the first televised commercial during a live sports broadcast, the first laugh track, and the first prime-time animated series.

Moving from the screen to intellectual property firsts. Michael and Joe explain how the early United States patent system looks nothing like what we know today, how the Supreme Court invalidated the first trademark granted, which led to a reboot of the whole trademark system. Finally, they look in their own backyard of Philadelphia for "copyright firsts," with the 1790 copyright registration for the Philadelphia Spelling Book.

This episode of IP "firsts" isn't just a collection of fun facts. Knowing the roots of intellectual property helps with understanding how ideas and designs are protected today. The episode explains the rules that guide the IP process, why they changed, and what that means when you're protecting a brand, a product, or a creative work today. What will your IP protection "first" be?

For full show notes and to explore more episodes, please visit www.vklaw.com/newsroom-podcasts.

Key Moments:

(01:45) Pop Culture Firsts: First Movie Theater Memory

(03:45) First "Adult" Movie + Rating History

(06:45) First TV Commercial

(09:39) First Laugh Track on TV

(12:08) First Primetime Animated TV Show

(14:50) Patent Firsts and Early U.S. Patent System

(19:20) Patent Office Fire + Patent Numbering Begins

(20:10) First U.S. Patent(s)

(24:15) Trademark Firsts

(27:16) Oldest Still-Active Trademark Mentioned

(29:10) Copyright Firsts + International "Piracy" Problem

(32:05) Final Thoughts

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What color says luxury before you open the box? What sound makes you grab the popcorn before a movie starts? In this episode of IP Goes Pop!®, hosts Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue explore how color, sound, and even scent can function as protectable trademarks.

From Smell-O-Vision and John Waters' Odorama cards (Polyester) to modern twists like The Artist and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (and the trademark fight it sparked), the conversation shows how sensory storytelling grabs attention and how the law can recognize those cues as brand identifiers. Mike and Joe break down secondary meaning (Qualitex v. Jacobson), functionality, and why precise descriptions matter.

In this episode:

• How non-traditional trademarks work, and what it takes to protect them

• The legal hurdles: secondary meaning, functionality, and clear scope drafting

• Iconic examples in action:

• • Tiffany's robin's-egg blue jewelry boxes

  • Louboutin's red-soled heels

  • John Deere's green-and-yellow equipment

  • NBC's three-note chime and the MGM lion's roar

  • Hasbro's Play-Doh scent

Bottom line: the strongest trademarks are not just seen, they're felt.

Key Moments:

(00:51) Defining non-traditional and non-conventional trademarks

(02:25) Examples of Nontraditional Media

(11:05) Trademark Foundations

(13:49) Color Functionality: The Legal Red Line

(15:44) Case Study 1: Tiffany Blue Trademark

(20:40) Case Study 2: Louboutin's Red Sole Trademark

(24:54) Case Study 3: John Deere Green & Yellow Trademark

(26:18) Sound & Audio Trademarks

(33:44) Scent Marks

(36:52) Touch Marks & Future Frontiers

(37:10) Final Thoughts & Takeaways

For full show notes and to explore more episodes, please visit www.vklaw.com/newsroom-podcasts.

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