In the age of TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, music plays a pivotal role in creating engaging content. Whether it is a catchy background tune or a trending song, the right music can elevate a video and make it go viral. However, as the use of music on social media...
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney
Jury Awards Teen Pop Group OMG Girlz $71.5 Million in IP Lawsuit with Toy Maker Over L.O.L. Dolls
MGA Entertainment has been ordered to pay a hefty $71.5 million in damages to Tameka “Tiny” Harris, her husband T.I., and the teen pop group OMG Girlz. The verdict in the IP lawsuit follows a three-week trial that accused the toy makers of stealing the looks, name,...
EU Court Ruling Expands Copyright Protection for International Works of Applied Art
In a recent landmark ruling, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) made a major change in how works of applied art – think designer furniture, sculptures, and other creative items – receive copyright protection across the EU. The ruling says that as long...
Grande Communications Held Liable for Contributory Copyright Infringement
Imagine you are an internet provider. You offer a service that lets people stream, browse, and download content. However, some of those users are engaging in illegal activities — like pirating copyrighted music. What do you do? What are you responsible for?...
Court Calls Out Nike for Trademark Infringement
A small Pennsylvania-based company, Lontex, is taking on Nike over a trademark infringement claim. Lontex specializes in compression technology for sportswear, marketed under the Sweat It Out brand. They developed a unique line of clothing featuring “Cool...
Pokémon Company Wins $15M in Damages from Mobile Game Makers Who Used Their Characters – Should Fans Worry They’re Next?
As a media franchise, Pokémon has been around since 1996, and a number of characters are immediately recognizable the world over. Because of this, the Pokémon Company is quite protective of their intellectual property, and there have been a number of Pokémon copyright...
Will Performing Rights Organizations Come Under Closer Inspection?
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee recently sent a letter asking the Copyright Office to look into some issues with performing rights organizations, also known as PROs. PROs are groups that collect specific types of payments – called royalties – on behalf of...
An AI Tool By Any Other Name… Would Have Circumvented This Lawsuit against Google for Trademark Infringement
A long-standing trend of the tech world is “industry disruption,” which often takes the form of taking action first and dealing with legal consequences later, whether that is new regulations to contain Uber and Lyft or judicial rulings reigning in trademark...