Intellectual Property Law

Generic genericness

Posted on June 18, 2013
What is “generic genericness”?  I just coined the phrase.  It refers, I maintain, to a genericness defense against infringement made by the junior user of a trademark where the English word on which the defense is premised doesn’t, well, exist, but the defendant maintains that the mark is so generic-y — i...

Ghost Rider vs. Free Riders?

Posted on June 13, 2013
News from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals: The man who might have created the Marvel Comics superhero/anti-hero Ghost Rider… well, might in fact have created Ghost Rider, and might not have transferred all of his rights in the character forever...

Oral argument tomorrow at the Second Circuit ? Ochre LLC (Copyright ? Useful articles ? Lighting ? Fashion Design)

Posted on June 11, 2013
Tomorrow morning I will appear before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which will hear argument in Ochre LLC v. Deutsche Bank, a copyright case. As usual, I won?t comment substantively about a pending matter — at least not beyond the very general questions I raised in this post – but [...

Originally posted 2009-07-05 22:54:16.

Posted on June 11, 2013
Originally posted 2009-07-05 22:54:16. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Starbucks ? not a ?preya? in Korea

Posted on June 11, 2013
Originally posted 2006-10-12 20:04:15. Republished by Blog Post Promoter The Korea Times reports that perpetual trademark litigation plaintiff Starbucks has lost two in a row to South Korea’s Elpreya company, which features a line of coffee utilizing the word STARPREYA and the above confusingly similar (says LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION) logo...

Keeping tabs on the worst

Posted on June 11, 2013
Originally posted 2008-01-22 13:42:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter John Welch presents the “Ten Worst TTAB Decisions of 2007.” I love stuff like this!

One-World Government to U.S.: First Amend THIS

Posted on June 11, 2013
Originally posted 2005-03-22 22:10:00. Republished by Blog Post PromoterA United Kingdom court has entered a crippling libel award against Rachel Ehrenfeld, author of the book Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed and How to Stop It, which is a tad critical of the ruling family of Saudi Arabia...

Pleas entered for illegal trafficking of Coke®; plus Ice

Posted on June 11, 2013
Originally posted 2006-11-10 12:36:17. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThe bad people who tried to peddle internal Coca-Cola trade secrets, including samples of a new drink, to Pepsi — only to have Pepsi turn them in — have pleaded guilty to their manifestly stupid actions, according to the Daily Dose of IP Blog by Ice MillerSM [...

False connections under the Lanham Act

Posted on June 07, 2013
John Welch has posted a collection of “false connection” claims under Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. 1052(a)).  As it happens, a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I had written a chapter in the New York State Bar Association’s new publication, In the Arena:  A Sports Law Handbook...

Making a joke of the First Amendment

Posted on June 07, 2013
Originally posted 2007-01-08 14:12:49. Republished by Blog Post PromoterLawyers don’t do the Constitution any favor when every trifle becomes a matter of litigation — perhaps especially in lawsuits against schools over kids’ “free speech rights” over things like t-shirts...

Knockoff News 54

Posted on June 07, 2013
Originally posted 2007-03-26 12:08:40. Republished by Blog Post PromoterIt fell off the back of a truck!

Own (Up to) Your (Alleged) Infringement

Posted on June 04, 2013
The problem?as this blogger sees it?with most mass-media reports of court decisions is that they tell you the outcome, but they rarely if ever tell you what?s really interesting about a decision. Consider, for example, the May 31 decision in the Second Circuit matter of Kelly-Brown, et al...

Blog hurts

Posted on June 04, 2013
Originally posted 2009-05-01 10:19:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Do you read blogs so much it hurts? The Government is here to protect you!

When You?re Hot, You?re Hot

Posted on June 04, 2013
Originally posted 2005-06-27 14:16:48. Republished by Blog Post PromoterSCOTUS got another one “right” (he humbly averred) as reported by the AP: Supreme Court Won’t Hear CIA Leak Case. Free speech doesn’t mean freedom to do whatever you want to in order get the stuff you want to say...

Hormel canned

Posted on June 04, 2013
The evidence shows that ?spam,? in addition to being petitioner?s trademark, has a well-recognized meaning as a generic term for unsolicited commercial email; the term isused by consumers, the media, Congress, state legislatures and those who sell solutions for such unwanted email...

Judge Gets the Points

Posted on June 04, 2013
Originally posted 2005-09-30 12:44:25. Republished by Blog Post PromoterRely on a disclaimer to avoid likelihood of confusion? Fat chance. Take the Second Circuit’s decision in Weight Watchers International Inc. v. Luigino’s Inc., fresh out of the oven and full of starch, for example...

?Inside Straight? on blogging for lawyers

Posted on June 02, 2013
Some of my best (online-who-I-never-met-but-believe-me-they-have-your-back) friends among legal bloggers don’t believe in legal blogging at all, and some of them, such as Scott Greenfield, both excel at it and are absolutely contemptuous of it – if, of course, you don’t realize that this depends on what “it” means: Frankly, I was quite surprised when Mark Britton, Avvo’s CEO, asked [...

What is a word mark?

Posted on June 02, 2013
Originally posted 2005-01-04 17:46:00. Republished by Blog Post PromoterSpeaking of Google and trademarks, an interesting article on Google’s own trademarks is “Don’t “Hitchhike”A Ride On Google’s Trademarks and URLs” by Russell Shaw...

Louis Louis

Posted on June 02, 2013
Originally posted 2012-03-13 10:54:05. Republished by Blog Post PromoterSteve Baird makes some great points about the Louis Vuittion / student activities flier kerfuffle: There has been quite a flap surrounding the poster and invitation used by the University of Pennsylvania Law School to promote Penn Intellectual Property Group?s Fashion Law Symposium, scheduled for a week from tomorrow...

Lawyer: Apple trademark claim ?silly?

Posted on June 02, 2013
Originally posted 2006-04-03 09:27:30. Republished by Blog Post PromoterCNN.com reports: A lawyer for Apple Computer Inc. on Thursday dismissed as ridiculous a long-running trademark infringement claim by The Beatles’ Apple Corps record label that has landed the two cultural icons in Britain’s High Court...

Looking for ?Peace of Mind? (BOSTON 2)

Posted on May 28, 2013
You might recall this previous post, addressing the nascent lawsuit brought by a corporate music publisher/exploiter and its principal (plaintiffs Next Decade Entertainment, Inc. & Paul Ahearn) against songwriter Don Scholz, a member of the band BOSTON...

Franchise quality control finds its own level

Posted on May 28, 2013
Originally posted 2010-01-20 10:21:31. Republished by Blog Post PromoterWell, I told you I had some serious questions… UPDATE:  This is the story.

School Tech (Infographic)

Posted on May 27, 2013
I like technology!  It’s all over me and I’m all over it.  It brings me to you and you to me.  It also keeps you from me if, you know, that’s more appropriate.  It has transformed the practice of law, the field of intellectual property, and everyday life in all sorts of ways that even [...

Likelihood of persuasion

Posted on May 27, 2013
Originally posted 2008-07-28 09:44:58. Republished by Blog Post PromoterRick Hasen expresses understandable concern over a footnote in the recent Supreme Court opinion in Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, suggesting that a certain set of studies is not worthy of consideration because it was “litigant-funded...

BLACKJACK dilutes BLACKBERRY trademark for smartphones?

Posted on May 27, 2013
Originally posted 2006-12-13 23:30:29. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThat’s what RIM, the maker of the Blackberry phone, says, according to press reports. Do we buy it — is there a likelihood of dilution (UPDATE:  link added)? Well, actually, they may very well have a point on this one...

Brand abuse on line

Posted on May 27, 2013
Originally posted 2007-08-15 18:38:04. Republished by Blog Post PromoterTom Crandall gets graphic.

Knockoff News 38

Posted on May 27, 2013
Originally posted 2006-11-02 16:01:05. Republished by Blog Post PromoterIt’s a fake world, after all.

No copyright in the fact of your existence

Posted on May 27, 2013
Originally posted 2009-01-02 09:19:37. Republished by Blog Post PromoterWhether someone else’s movie includes your building in Times Square (a properly defunct trademark claim) or, as Marty Schwimmer reports, your pinball machine in the corner of the room, being an IP jerk — at least in front of U...

In the Arena: A Sports Law Handbook

Posted on May 23, 2013
I contributed a chapter called “How Trademark Protection Intersects with the Athlete’s Right of Publicity” in a new book called In the Arena: A Sports Law Handbook.  Its publication, in true bar association fashion, was secretly announced last week...

More Obama poster postings

Posted on May 23, 2013
Originally posted 2009-02-27 13:52:22. Republished by Blog Post PromoterHere’s a little bit of an update / roundup from Brian Ledbetter on the story about the litigation surrounding the famous Obama poster, focusing on the “fair use” argument against the copyright infringement claim against the Obama campaign.

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