Can copyright lawsuits ever be used for purposes other than protecting your own intellectual property? A recent case in Southern California shows a novel copyright infringement suit.David Berkovitz, a professor at Chapman University, taught his Business 215 class...
Year: 2022
McDonald’s, Russia, and the Territoriality of IP Rights
On March 9, 2022, McDonald's announced it would be temporarily closing over 800 locations in Russia. Three days later, a trademark application was submitted to the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property for a logo with familiar arches and recognizable color...
Defense Research Institute Intellectual Property Conference 2022 – Houston, TX
I am writing to you from Houston, TX this week. I spent the past few days attending a Defense Research Institute (DRI) conference on Intellectual Property Litigation here. For two days, I have listened to speakers and watched presentations about copyright,...
Copyright Infringement at the Winter Olympics: House of the Rising Sun
What do you imagine when you hear “Winter Olympics”? Steep hills of snow, racers on skis, lyrical ice skaters… And copyright infringement? Musicians and brothers Robert and Aron Marderosian – known as the musical artist “Heavy Young Heathens” – are waging a copyright...
What To Do If You Suspect a Patent Infringement
Patent infringement lawsuits are not uncommon. For example, in 2021, chip manufacturing giant Intel was ordered to pay $2.18 billion to VLSI Technology for infringing on eight of that company’s patents. The jury verdict is on appeal by Intel. The award was the third...
Cult Gaia “Ark” Bag: What Makes a Mark Generic or Distinctive?
The fashion world is incredibly focused on iterations, drawing on historical style choices and reusing them over time. Because of this, it is an interesting question to consider what products can be registered as a distinct trademark – and what cannot. If a product...
LEGO, Queer Eye Wardrobe, and Copyright Infringement
An oversight by ITV and Netflix may have led to a copyright infringement case against toymaker LEGO – one of many reasons to get clearance for any artwork used in a show. How are these companies connected in this story? In Netflix’s Queer Eye series, artist James...
Rogue Little Caesars Face Trademark Infringement
Franchise business operations are heavily governed by rules. These rules make it possible to both protect and share the intellectual property of the central business’s marks. When the rules are violated, the mutual commercial relationship breaks down. In Seattle, WA,...