Creative Law Center
SEPTEMBER 29, 2018
A bill designed to give creative professionals a copyright small claims forum to enforce their rights is moving forward in Congress. The post Copyright Small Claims Act: Update appeared first on Creative Law Center.
GDB Firm Blog
DECEMBER 12, 2018
GRAND JURIES: A Series One of the most important parts of the criminal justice system is also the most opaque: the grand jury. The grand jury convenes in secret and controls whether a defendant stands trial for the most serious criminal charges. Because of its clandestine nature, its critical role is not well understood. Allow us to pull back the veil of secrecy and demystify this important procedural step.
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More Than Your Mark
NOVEMBER 30, 2018
Patentability. The position of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on trademarks for cannabis-related goods and services is discussed in my colleague’s blog post, “ Trademark Registration for Cannabis Trademark Owners a Legal Haze.”. Unlike in the case of trademarks, patentability of cannabis-related products and processes is much more clear-cut.
Greenspoon Marder LLP
NOVEMBER 26, 2018
On November 19, 2018, Mattel, Inc. filed an opposition in the United States Patent and Trademark Office against the Paris Distilling Company, LLC’s trademark application for its OLD BARBEE mark to be used in connection with alcoholic beverage products. Mattel argues that BARBIE® is a strong, distinctive and famous mark, which would be “diluted” if OLD BARBEE were granted registration.
Speaker: Blackberry, OSS Consultants, & Revenera
Software is complex, which makes threats to the software supply chain more real every day. 64% of organizations have been impacted by a software supply chain attack and 60% of data breaches are due to unpatched software vulnerabilities. In the U.S. alone, cyber losses totaled $10.3 billion in 2022. All of these stats beg the question, “Do you know what’s in your software?
Art Law Journal
OCTOBER 24, 2018
Nicole Martinez. Fair use is a common art law issue that arises for artists. Here, we review the College Art Association's Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts.
McBayer IP Blog
JUNE 6, 2018
Posted In copyright , Intellectual Property “When the Copyright Act was amended in 1976, the words “tweet,” “viral,” and “embed” invoked thoughts of a bird, a disease, and a reporter.” So begins the opinion of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in the case of Justin Goldman v.
Intellectual Property Pulse brings together the best content for IP professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Creative Law Center
SEPTEMBER 20, 2018
Take a tour through the single copyright application with this replay of a live step-by-step session. Move quickly through the tricky parts. Complete with cost saving tips and clear explanations. The post Copyright Application: Step-by-Step appeared first on Creative Law Center.
Creative Law Center
SEPTEMBER 12, 2018
Knowing how to use famous people in your fiction, art, or film can keep you from getting turned down by a publisher or producer or getting sued by a celebrity. The post How to Use Famous People in Fiction, Art, & Film appeared first on Creative Law Center.
GDB Firm Blog
DECEMBER 10, 2018
A contractor who was anxious to demonstrate that it had completed work on 10 of 12 bridges in its contract, finds itself time-barred from asserting any claim on those 10 bridges, proving once again that when contracting with the City of New York, what you say can and will be used against you.
Greenspoon Marder LLP
OCTOBER 29, 2018
By: Sharon Urias, Esq. What happens to a trademark license when the brand owner goes bankrupt? This is a question to be addressed by the Supreme Court in Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC , which is a question the International Trademark Association, who filed an amicus brief in support of the petition for certiorari, called “the most significant unresolved legal issue in trademark licensing.
Advertiser: IPO
Women and diverse employees have the technical skill and knowledge, yet their contributions are not patented at the same rate as those of their male counterparts.This toolkit can help organizations move the needle on achieving gender parity in innovation.
More Than Your Mark
OCTOBER 19, 2018
As discussed in our previous post , Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) under 35 U.S.C. §154(b) and Patent Term Extension (PTE) under 35 U.S.C. §156 provide for extensions on the standard patent term, which can be very valuable for products that have long development and/or regulatory approval lifecycles, such as in the case of pharmaceuticals. This post will focus on the calculation of PTA, which is intended to adjust the patent term to compensate for delays caused by the U.S.
Art Law Journal
OCTOBER 15, 2018
Steve Schlackman. Facebook censorship policy is becoming more prevalent as it attempts to clean up fake news posted to the platform. But how does that affect Facebook users' right to Free Speech?
Greenspoon Marder LLP
OCTOBER 11, 2018
By: Sharon Urias, Esq. Similar to their patent or copyright troll counterparts, “trademark trolls” are unscrupulous characters that exploit intellectual property laws for financial gain. Although some may characterize “trademark bullies” (i.e. companies that aggressively threaten litigation to enforce trademark rights more broadly than they should) as trolls, this blog post only addresses opportunistic trademark registrants.
Greenspoon Marder LLP
SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
By: Sharon Urias, Esq. When American consumers hear the term UGG, do they associate that term with UGG brand boots or with any sheepskin boots? That, in essence, is the question presented to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois last week. As trademark lawyers everywhere know, “generic” terms do not qualify for trademark protection under the Lanham Act.
Art Law Journal
AUGUST 27, 2018
Steve Schlackman. At some point in any visual artist’s career, they will undoubtedly consider how to protect their work from infringements. Here are some tactics that might help.
Art Law Journal
AUGUST 19, 2018
Chris Reed. Recently, Google warned of new methods to remove watermarks online. However, those that do so face larger consequences under DMCA laws. Art Law Journal breaks it down.
Art Law Journal
AUGUST 16, 2018
Nicole Martinez. Find out how the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) protects public works, like street art, from being altered or destroyed by private land owners.
Art Law Journal
JULY 26, 2018
Steve Schlackman. While forgeries in the online art market are prevalent, art forgeries in the general art market are hardly rare. Art Law Journal reviews what collectors should watch out for, including provenance and appropriate documentation.
More Than Your Mark
JULY 3, 2018
If you’ve been prosecuting patents for any significant length of time, you’ve probably been hit with the objection that your data, while surprising and unexpected, are not “commensurate in scope with your claims.” Maybe you have some understanding of what this phrase means. Maybe you have some idea what the patent examiner thinks it means. MPEP § 716.02(d) provides: “Whether the unexpected results are the result of unexpectedly improved results or a property not taught by the prior art, the ‘obj
Art Law Journal
JUNE 28, 2018
Steve Schlackman. Buying visual art, such as an oil painting, and we may have joint ownership along with its creator. So what did we really buy?
GDB Firm Blog
JUNE 26, 2018
5 Things to do when liened.
Greenspoon Marder LLP
JUNE 21, 2018
By: Sharon Urias, Esq. Everyone knows that Coke and Pepsi are rivals, but did you know that Coke also has been engaged in a battle with the Dr Pepper Snapple Group over the term ZERO? For the past fifteen years, The Coca-Cola Co. (“Coca-Cola”) has been battling with Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s Royal Crown Company, Inc. and Dr Pepper/Seven UP, Inc. (“Royal Crown”) over Coca-Cola’s efforts to trademark the term ZERO.
Art Law Journal
MAY 20, 2018
Chris Reed. On February 20, The U.S. Copyright Office will alter the way it accepts applications for copyright registration of photographs. Here's what you'll need to know moving forward.
Art Law Journal
MAY 19, 2018
Chris Reed. Comic book publisher ComicMix allegedly created a mashup of a popular Dr. Seuss book with elements of the iconic Star Trek TV series. Here, we discuss the resulting copyright infringement case, and whether a court may find the work permissible under the fair use doctrine.
Art Law Journal
MAY 3, 2018
Steve Schlackman. Art forgery remains a rampant issue within the art market and recent cases serve as a reminder of the need for highly technological tools to combat the practice.
Greenspoon Marder LLP
MARCH 27, 2018
By: Sharon Urias, Esq. Over the past few years, graffiti artists, also referred to as street artists, have started filing copyright lawsuits over the alleged improper and unauthorized use of their work. Sometimes the works in question are reproduced on clothing, other times the works are featured in advertising and marketing campaigns. While many artists claim the unauthorized use of their work makes them look like corporate sell-outs and diminishes their “street cred,” which is an important fac
Art Law Journal
MARCH 13, 2018
Steve Schlackman. For years, videographers have used music as a backdrop in their films, short videos, and documentaries. The law around music licensing is pretty clear: a license is required to use copyrighted music in a video. This has been a standard practice since the dawn of music recordings. Yet, throughout the video industry, we find music being […].
Art Law Journal
MARCH 1, 2018
Louis Smoller. The 5 Pointz $6.7 million verdict will set an important precedent for graffiti artists in future cases involving the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA).
Greenspoon Marder LLP
FEBRUARY 22, 2018
By: Sharon Urias, Esq. In 2014, actor Frank Sivero, known for playing mobsters Genco Abbandando in “The Godfather II” and Frankie Carbone in “Goodfellas,” filed an intellectual property lawsuit against Fox Television Studios, Inc. (“Fox”). In his suit, Sivero claimed the character “Louie” from the massively successful and popular animated series “The Simpsons” was based on his mobster performances and alleged among other things, common law infringement of right of publicity and misappropriation
Greenspoon Marder LLP
JANUARY 22, 2018
By: Sharon Urias, Esq. As previously discussed, colors may be trademarked, in particular when a product’s color develops a secondary meaning in the market, such as when companies and their associated products use specific colors that acquire and establish a distinctiveness in the minds of consumers. Examples include: UPS’s “Brown,” Tiffany’s “Blue,” and “Coco-Cola’s “Red.
Greenspoon Marder LLP
JANUARY 5, 2018
By: Sharon Urias, Esq. In November, we reported that Allstate Insurance Company (“Allstate”) had sued Kia Motors (“Kia”) for trademark infringement over Kia’s “Drive Wise” moniker and technology, which Allstate argued was too similar to its “Drivewise” insurance product. [link] After the November 2017 trial, a federal jury issued an advisory verdict in favor of Allstate, finding that there was a likelihood of consumer confusion between Allstate’s free downloadable computer application program wh
GDB Firm Blog
DECEMBER 19, 2018
Where the Lien Law requires one to serve a copy of one's mechanic's lien upon the contractor by certified mail, and then file the proof of service within 35 days, don't mess around. A subcontractor learned the hard way that failing to do so will invalidate the lien—even where the contractor admitted knowledge of the lien.
GDB Firm Blog
DECEMBER 3, 2018
Contractors beware. It may not be sufficient for a woman to hold more than 50% of the shares of a company and be Chief Executive Officer of a Women-Owned Business Enterprise. An appellate court ruled that the NYS Department of Economic Development acted rationally in refusing to renew the certification of a WBE where the CEO—still active in the company--nevertheless delegated significant responsibilities to her brothers in this family-owned business.
GDB Firm Blog
NOVEMBER 19, 2018
The issue of cross-racial identification has been a widely discussed one in the criminal defense bar in recent years. The "cross-race effect" has serious implications in a criminal trial where the testimony of a witness identifying a defendant of a different race may be crucial and determinative of the final outcome. A recent Appellate Division decision further expanded the role of the "cross-race effect" in criminal trials.
GDB Firm Blog
NOVEMBER 12, 2018
The Appellate Division both giveth and taketh away—upholding a contractor's right to file a mechanic's lien for work it performed but had not yet invoiced for; but also sustaining an owner's defense of willful exaggeration in connection with the contractor's filing of a mechanic's lien for two unapproved change orders.
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