Last week I addressed fair use as an exception to copyright infringement. Among the situations that gave rise to fair use were those deemed transformative. What is a transformative work? As the copyright statute suggests, it is an important consideration that the work neither diminish the value nor damage the market for the original or its … More Kia Soul Hamsters are Funny and Transformative
Copyright Law sets forth an exception to infringement for fair use. But what is a fair use is often confusing. Circumstances often dictate the extent to which this exception is applied. The statute provides express limitation on the exclusive rights granted…. for the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies … More What Use Is a Fair Use
Oftentimes my clients express confusion as to what exactly a trademark does or does not do for them in business. As defined by statute, a trademark includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof (1) used by a person, or (2) which a person has a bona fide intention to use in commerce….to identify and … More Five Reasons Trademark Law Can Be Confusing
An interesting 1st Circuit opinion extended a hotel’s common law trademark into territory encroaching upon an incontestable junior registered mark of a competing hotel. In the case of Dorpan, S.L. v. Hotel Melià, Inc., Dorpan, a European hotel chain using the brand, Sol Melia, as a registered trademark faced off with the Hotel Melia “HMI” located … More Extending Use Under Trademark Law
For those of you who enjoy a fun case, the saga of Starbucks v. Wolfe’s Borough Coffee “WBC” is for you. During the course of this epic ten year battle pitting the famous international coffee purveyor against the small New England roaster, the law of trademark dilution has been analyzed, argued and then revised by … More Starbucks Charred Again
A long simmering feud between Authors and Google resulting from its library scanning project was resolved when the US District Court in New York decided in Google’s favor dismissing the authors’ lawsuit. The scanning involved whole materials, but only made snippets available to the public through Google search. The Court found this mechanism to be … More Google Scans Win Court Approval
Trademark law allows for filing an application for federal registration of a mark based on a good faith intent to use the mark in commerce. After examination by the USPTO, a Notice of Allowance is issued. The applicant then has an initial 6 month period in which to file a Statement of Use attesting to … More Trademark Intent to Use
The criminal defendant was charged with making a threat by posting a communication on the Internet, Craig’s List, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(c). After the District Court overruled Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, Defendant plead guilty subject to the appeal of his Motion. The statement communicated by the Defendant, published on … More CyberLaw: Internet Threat?
Apparently not according to the Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit. In the case of Unclaimed Property Recovery Service et al v. Kaplan, former Plaintiffs in a Class Action lawsuit who had registered the Complaint and supporting documentation with the Copyright Register, sued their former lawyer for copyright infringement upon his use of the pleadings in filing … More Copyrighted Legal Pleadings?
I used my mobile phone to snap a picture (below) of an advertisement display outside the movie theater. A photographer owns the rights pursuant to Section 102 (5) of the Copyright Act for pictorial, graphic and sculptural works. However my picture is of a another work, a display created by the media company hired … More Chatham Great White Mile Swim
William Tennant 
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