Insights
This 4th of July, Take Some Time to Celebrate the Birth of IP Law
As we celebrate the birth of our nation this week, I encourage you to take a few moments between barbecuing and enjoying fireworks to also toast the beginnings of intellectual property rights for Americans. While not tied to July 4 specifically, the first baby steps...
Marks Gray Attorneys Recognized as 2025 Rising Stars and Super Lawyers
We are proud to announce that seven Marks Gray attorneys have been named 2025 Florida Rising Stars, and eleven attorneys have been selected for the 2025 Florida Super Lawyers. These honors reflect our firm’s deep commitment to legal excellence, innovation, and client...
New Top Gun: Maverick Lawsuit Raises Questions About What Constitutes a Writing Credit
In late April, Shaun Gray filed a lawsuit against Paramount seeking a share of profits for work he alleges he did on the studio’s 2022 megahit Top Gun: Maverick. The cousin of one of the film’s credited screenwriters, Eric Singer, Mr. Gray claims that Singer and...
In Fireball vs. Firebull, Everyone Wins… and Loses?
Sometimes, trademark confusion battles between brands can start to sound a bit like an elementary school playground fight. Case in point? Bullshine v. Sazerac, which was just decided in both brands’ favor… sort of. Back in 2015, Baltimore-based distiller Bullshine...
To What Degree Should Clips of Copyright-Protected Music Be Allowed in Social Videos?
Recently, Sony Music Entertainment sued USC for posting promotional videos to social media accounts linked to the university that use unlicensed musical tracks. According to the suit, USC used 170 unlicensed music recordings on 283 social media videos across 30 social...
$222M Decision against Walmart: A Case of ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’
If you are a smaller B2B business with an innovative technology, service, or product, chances are good that you will have to present your innovation to larger companies. You want these companies to see how amazing your creation is because the goal is to get them to...
INTA’s Annual Meeting: Exciting and Scary Times
Protection of company trademarks and copyrights is becoming increasingly important. This point was driven home to me last week when I attended the International Trademark Association’s (INTA) Annual Meeting in San Diego along with a wide variety of trademark...
In the Style of Studio Ghibli: You Can Not Copyright an Aesthetic
We have written several articles touching on how it is not possible to obtain copyright protection for an idea. What is protectable is the specific tangible execution of that idea. A variation on this concept has come into play regarding the recently added ability of...