2017

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What to Include in an Art Consignment Agreement with a Gallery

Art Law Journal

Louis Smoller. While the end result of an art consignment relationship is mutually beneficial to both parties, it is imperative that an artist and gallery each formalize their art consignment agreement in writing.

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You Must Renew a Bonded Lien, Or Else

GDB Firm Blog

Of the many traps lurking in the New York Lien Law, perhaps the one that trips up the most contractors is the requirement that a mechanic's lien still must be renewed after it is bonded. But in a recent case, even though a contractor fell into that trap yet again, the judge gave it a second chance, for an unusual reason.

Law 52
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A Trademark Fight Over Nearly Identical Names: Is There Confusion?

Greenspoon Marder LLP

By: Sharon Urias, Esq. AllState Insurance Company (“Allstate”) recently filed a lawsuit against Kia Motors (“Kia”) for trademark infringement over the use of the two words “drive” and “wise.” Both companies use the words as monikers for their products. Allstate has the “Drivewise” driver data and rewards program and Kia offers “Drive Wise” technology assistance and autonomous vehicle features.

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Supreme Court Holds under First Amendment that Offensive, Disparaging Words Can Be Granted Trademark Protection

McBayer IP Blog

Posted In Intellectual Property , Trademark Lately there has been a growing tension between certain trademark applicants and a provision of the 1946 Lanham Act, which governs protection of trademarks. This clause gives the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ( the “PTO”) the power to deny registration of any “immoral. scandalous” trademark, or one that may “disparage. or bring. into contempt or disrepute” any “persons, living or dead.” 15 U.

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Software Composition Analysis: The New Armor for Your Cybersecurity

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?

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Trademark Registration Practice is Officially…umm…Well, You’ll See

KMK Blog

In perhaps the least surprising trademark decision of the past 12 months, and one that could have been rendered in under 5 pages (rather than the 50 it actually took), the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit last Friday held that the Lanham Act’s Section 2(a) bar on registration of marks which “consist of or comprises immoral…or scandalous matter” is an unconstitutional, content-based restriction on speech.

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Hello world!

CTC Legal Media

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Editing 52

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Yes, Colors May Be Trademarked

Greenspoon Marder LLP

By: Sharon Urias, Esq. While it may be surprising to some, colors may be trademarked. Some examples of trademarked colors include: UPS’s “Brown,” Home Depot’s “Orange,” Target’s “Red,” 3M’s “Canary Yellow,” Coca-Cola’s “Coke Red,” “Mattel’s “Barbie Pink,” and Tiffany’s “Blue.” The colors in these examples are given trademark protection because the companies and their associated products that use those specific colors have acquired a distinctiveness in the minds of consumers.

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Patents and Sovereign Immunity

Greenspoon Marder LLP

By: Sharon Urias, Esq. Recently, Allergan PLC struck a licensing deal with the Saint Regis Mohawk Native American tribe in what appears to an attempt to shield its patents for its eye drug Restasis from review at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”). This agreement is being scrutinized by the legal community, the PTAB and Congress. Allergan sold its Restatis patents to Saint Regis Mohawk, who in turn licensed the patents back to Allergen.

Patent 52
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Delta Takes On Travel Websites

Greenspoon Marder LLP

By: Sharon Urias, Esq. In May 2016, Delta Air Lines (“Delta”) filed a federal lawsuit, Delta v. Fly Tech LLC et al., against a number of associated travel websites (Triposaver.com, Triptkt.com, Flyairs.com, Webflyts.com, and Easyflightdeals.com) (the “Websites”) with allegations of fraud, unjust enrichment, unfair competition, trademark infringement, and trademark counterfeiting.

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Controversial USPTO Fee Rule Gets Full Federal Circuit Rehearing

Greenspoon Marder LLP

By: Sharon Urias, Esq. In 2013, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) introduced a new rule requiring applicants who appeal a USPTO decision to a federal district court to pay the USPTO’s legal bills. This means even if the applicant wins its appeal in federal court, it must pay the USPTO’s legal fees. Not surprisingly, it did not take long for the legal challenges to follow.

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IPO Diversity in Innovation Toolkit

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.

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Beware of Trademark Scams!

Greenspoon Marder LLP

By: Sharon Urias, Esq. You decide to start a new business. Congrats! You do all of the things you are supposed to do (the meticulous planning, research and set-up of your business entity and financial obligations) and, of course, you file one or more trademarks to protect your valuable business brand. Your application is accepted by the USPTO and you believe everything is in order.

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Game Changer: Supreme Court Upholds Offensive Trademarks

Greenspoon Marder LLP

By: Sharon Urias, Esq. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) authority to cancel and ban offensive trademark registrations has been under scrutiny the past few years. When the USPTO cancelled numerous trademarks of the NFL’s Washington Redskins for being offensive and disparaging of Native Americans, it created a firestorm of conversation and analysis in the social, political and legal communities.

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No More Audit Anxiety: Why an Intellectual Property Audit is Nothing to Fear

McBayer IP Blog

Posted In Audit , Intellectual Property Your employment attorney has been advising you that you need to audit your independent contractors and overtime-exempt employees to comply with new rules, while your accountant has been working with you to help avoid audits by the IRS. The word “audit” might as well be spelled with four letters. We all know that “audit” is a loaded term, striking fear in the hearts of battle-scarred survivors of audits gone by.

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An Award of Exceptional Case Fees Under the Patent Act for an Appeal

Greenspoon Marder LLP

By: Sharon Urias, Esq. On top of $2 million in attorneys’ fees and over $4 million in trebled damages, MGA Entertainment, Inc. (the maker of Bratz dolls) has to pay Innovention Toys LLC’s attorneys’ fees for appellate proceedings that went to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals and then up to the United States Supreme Court. Innovention Toys originally filed the lawsuit against MGA in 2007 for patent infringement of a strategy board game called “Khet,” which uses laser beams to “fire” at opposi

Patent 52
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Beer and Breweries: A Growing Business, a Trademark Extravaganza

Greenspoon Marder LLP

By: Sharon Urias, Esq. During the past several years, there has been a significant increase in the number of new craft breweries established in the United States. The nearly 40% growth has resulted in over 4,000 brewery-associated businesses nationwide. With such staggering growth in one industrial sector, it is not only ripe for an influx of trademark registrations, but also numerous trademark infringement disputes.

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Parody Bag Safe from Louis Vuitton

Greenspoon Marder LLP

By: Sharon Urias, Esq. Designer Tara Martin launched the “My Other Bag” handbag line in 2011. Her canvas tote bags say “My Other Bag…” on one side, and the other side contains a drawing or image of a high-end designer handbag, such as Louis Vuitton. The My Other Bag totes typically are priced between $35.00 and $55.00. Evidently, the tote bag is a play on the well-known “My other car is…” bumper stickers, often affixed to outdated, economy or jalopy vehicles and insinuate that the driver’s other

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Star Trek Fan Film May Not Live Long and Prosper

Greenspoon Marder LLP

By: Sharon Urias, Esq. On July 26, 2014, a fan-made Star Trek associated short film entitled “Prelude to Axanar” made its public debut at the San Diego Comic-Con convention. The film’s production was funded through a crowdfunding campaign, which ultimately raised over $100,000.00. “Prelude to Axanar” is a documentary-styled film set in the Star Trek universe.

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Filing a Mechanic's Lien. Again. And Again.

GDB Firm Blog

A recent case reiterates that once your mechanic's lien expires, all may not be lost. If the time to file a lien has not expired, you might just be able to file a new one.

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A Willfully Exaggerated Lien - It's Not Just The Amount

GDB Firm Blog

Contractors beware. In a recent case, the court found a mechanic's lien to be willfully exaggerated not based on the lien amount but by virtue that the mechanic's lien should not have been filed in the first place.

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Extension of Time Requests — A Trap of a Different Sort

GDB Firm Blog

Between periods of limitation and various notice provisions, there are traps aplenty ready to trip up a contractor attempting to assert a valid claim. A recent Supreme Court, New York County decision sent a contractor packing for yet another reason--it failed to preserve its claim in an extension of time request.

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Construction License Agreements: Evolving Terms

GDB Firm Blog

The requirements for obtaining an RPAPL 881 license just got longer, as a developer was ordered to post a $1.5 million bond in addition to providing robust insurance coverage.

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What Can You Lien For? And What Not?

GDB Firm Blog

If you perform work, labor or services at a construction project, or supply materials or equipment to the site, there is a general perception that you are permitted to file a mechanic's lien for the agreed price and fair and reasonable value of what you provided. To a large extent that is true. But a recent case out of the Supreme Court in New York County involving the construction of a high school, serves as a good reminder of how difficult it is sometimes to determine what you can lien fo

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Strict Notice Provisions Kill Yet Another Claim

GDB Firm Blog

Too many valid claims get dismissed before the court even has a chance to look at their merits. The culprit is often the ubiquitous notice provisions in the construction contract. But sometimes the provisions are found in payment bonds. A recent case reminds contractors to be aware of those short notice periods as well.

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Never Signed an Arbitration Clause? Not a Problem

GDB Firm Blog

The general rule is that only a party to an arbitration agreement is bound by, or may enforce, the agreement. A recent appellate decision just highlighted an important exception to that rule and ordered a subcontractor to arbitrate its claim against five individuals who were not signatories to an arbitration clause.

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Punitive Damages in a Construction Case? Really?

GDB Firm Blog

Creditors dream of getting punitive damages from the party which owes it money. The reality is not so accommodating. The general rule is that punitive damages are not recoverable in a commercial breach of contract case.

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When is Actual Notice of Extra Work Not Considered Notice?

GDB Firm Blog

An upstate appellate court holds that even actual notice, conceded by the owner, does not necessarily satisfy the notice provisions of a construction contract and dismisses a contractor's extra work claims.

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Debarment by Feds Leads to Debarment by State and Local Agencies

GDB Firm Blog

New York amends its Labor Law and General Municipal Law to provide that if a contractor is debarred for a wage violation under the Davis-Bacon Act in the performance of a federal contract, it shall be ineligible to bid on state, municipal or agency work.

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Time Is Not On Your Side

GDB Firm Blog

Contracting with large commercial owners or public agencies is hard enough. But letting otherwise valid claims get dismissed because you missed a deadline is especially frustrating. A recent case reflects how easy it is to be tripped up by very short time periods in a contract, and how avoidable those critical errors are.

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Booze is Booze, Right? Not so fast.

KMK Blog

In a non-precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) recently reversed a refusal to register Heritage Distilling Company’s application for the mark, BSB , for “distilled spirits” based on the following mark owned by Black Shirt Brewing Co.

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You've Got Six Years to Sue for Breach of Contract, Right?

GDB Firm Blog

Contracting parties in the know are aware that the statute of limitations for breach of contract is six years. But a recent appellate decision reminds us that the parties can shorten that period quite a bit.

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Willful Exaggeration of a Mechanic's Lien - Only Established at Trial

GDB Firm Blog

Think you've got a strong claim for willful exaggeration of a mechanic's lien filed by your contractor or subcontractor? Not so fast. The lien can be withdrawn or discharged at any time and with it goes your claim.

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Your Designated Arbitrator Disappears - Now What?

GDB Firm Blog

Where a contract reflects the intention of the parties to resolve their differences by arbitration, even the absence of a designated arbitrator or a vacancy in that position will not frustrate that intention.

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Did A Neural Network Just Solve Craft Brewing's Trademark Problems?

KMK Blog

In response to a rise in craft beer trademark disputes, research scientist Janelle Shane recently set loose a "neural network" – a type of computer program that can "learn" from data sets that are given to it – to create new craft beer names. The thought was that the computer program could learn from thousands of existing beer names, and come up with a long list of new ones built on detected patterns.

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Enroll in Amazon’s Brand Registry 2.0… But Only if You Own a Registered Trademark

KMK Blog

If you sell private label products on Amazon, please listen up! Amazon recently released its Brand Registry 2.0. The new and improved Brand Registry is Amazon’s most recent attempt to combat brand violations on its online marketplace.

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Fiona Versus the Counterfeiters: What About Her Rights?

KMK Blog

As Fiona the hippo, at the Cincinnati Zoo, battled from being born six weeks premature to weighing 375 pounds with a healthy side of sass , she gathered a huge and fierce following. #TeamFiona has taken the world by storm.

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