Insights
Is a “Collection” One Work or Multiple Works? The Answer Matters for Infringement Cases
Let this be a lesson to anyone producing creative works who decides to deem them a “collection.” Examples of this might include: musicians releasing an album, writers compiling essays or short stories into a single book, and visual artists placing multiple works in a...
Can You Register a Trademark for the Translation of Your Book?
I will start this blog post with a simple trademark law fact: If you write a book, you are not allowed to register a trademark for the name of that book. Given that, perhaps you wonder how a person would arrive at the question: "But can I register a trademark for a...
November IP Event: The International Trademark Association Leadership Meeting
This November 15-17th, the International Trademark Association is holding its annual Leadership Meeting in Houston, TX. This is an invite-only conference for board members and leaders of committees for the Association. Since I have been serving on the...
Famous Authors Fight Back Against AI Using Their Content for Free
Authors – and the writing world in general – have largely been up in arms over the rise of ChatGPT and other AI aggregator programs that “create” their content by crawling through existing material and stitching it together – to arguably make something new. One of the...
Land Use Designation on Beer Can Island
What’s the use of a land designation? If you have spent any time looking into land zoning, you may have discovered its older and wiser cousin in real estate law. Both land use designation and land zoning come into play in an ongoing dialogue over a small, private...
Navigating Name Discrepancies in Form I-9: Can Employers Accept Supporting Documents with Different Names?
Happy Fall, everyone! Last month I flew to Australia to participate in a Marathon there – and, of course, explore the amazing things the country has to offer. The entire experience was incredible, and it got me thinking about how working in HR is kind of like a...
When a Sound Can Be Registered as a Trademark for Goods
It is fairly uncommon for a sound to serve as a trademark for goods, likely due to how we define trademarks. In order for a mark to be registered, it must the mark must serve as a source identifier for the product or service. Typically, this involves that mark being...
Video: Best Practices in I-9 Compliance for HR Professionals
You might be wondering: "How bad can a few simple I-9 mistakes be?" It's natural to think that a mistake or two won’t matter. Especially if you’re busy with lots of other things or haven’t been trained to avoid these mistakes. Unfortunately, when it comes to...