We have talked about the Lanham Act previously in regards to how it helps define the U.S. trademark registration system. A recent case involving a U.S. company and its European distributor brings up a specific question about the Lanham Act: does it apply to...
As we have discussed, a central theme of U.S. Copyright law is the stimulation of creative ideas, their free exchange, and commercial profitability from them. This is why copyright enforcement is not black-and-white/all-or-nothing – not all infringement is considered...
At the end of 2022, I wrote about the Jack Daniel's parody toy case against Phoenix-based VIP Company. It has been ongoing for some time now, with both parties arguing their case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Well, just a few weeks back, there was an update...
In many copyright infringement cases, there is a bit of gray area. Perhaps the accused did not realize they were infringing on another’s intellectual property. Or they believed that their usage was allowed due to parody or educational purposes. This is not what...
At the beginning of this year, President Biden signed the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act into law. We already have laws protecting intellectual property assets, as well as measures to punish those who flout those laws: civil lawsuits, the U.S....
If you have ever opened a wedding invitation from Zazzle, you have likely crossed paths with the Blooming Elegant font, a curly typeface in the “handwritten” family. Well, until recently. Its disappearance from the website last summer at the behest of its designer...
As we head into 2023, you may be feeling an entrepreneurial itch to start or expand your own business venture. Perhaps you are excitedly brainstorming names for your business and looking up the state and federal to-dos to become legitimate. In this vein, I would like...
If your employer registers a trademark for your stage name, how does that impact you and your future endeavors? And if you leave that employer, should they let that trademark go with you? In an unexpected example of this scenario, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc....