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
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
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?
The two iconic brands faced off recently in the Court of Appeals Federal Circuit over stitching. The appeal resulted from the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board “TTAB’s” decision to throw out Levi’s Opposition and Cancellation Proceedings against Abercrombie & Fitch “A&F” based upon “been there, done that” litigation at the District Court for the Northern … More S“Tit”ch for Tat Trademark War Pits Levi vs. A&F
This week the US Court of Appeals Second Circuit issued Google a reprieve from class action certification. Google was alleged by the Authors Guild to have committed copyright infringement by copying and displaying “snippets” of millions of books in the Library Project of its Google Books search tool. The parties had reached an earlier settlement … More Google Wins Class Action Reprieve
Clients of my practice usually either have a website or are planning to get one. From an intellectual property “IP” standpoint, the developer agreement is critical to ensure the right content and code necessary for your business to attract clients and customers. There are many terms to consider including project scope, testing, hosting, ownership, payment … More Essential Points of Web Developer Agreements
Everyone knows Oprah Winfrey. Attractive, eloquent and charismatic, she’s a brand unto herself. However, she recently came out on the short end of the stick in a trademark dispute with Simone Kelly-Brown, the owner of the registered service mark “Own Your Power.” Oprah’s media empire had used this phrase in a number of publications, at … More Oprah Loses “Own Your Power” Trademark Skirmish
William Tennant 
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