Tag: Intellectual Property Law

Defendant Prevails In Trademark Lawsuit Over Keyword Advertising

May 22, 2013

Google sells keywords to advertisers that involve the trademarks of competitors often bringing rise to claims for trademark infringement. The latest case attesting to the futility of bringing suits on this basis is General Steel v. Chumley where the Federal District Court in Colorado sided with the Defendant on the trademark claims based on keyword … More Defendant Prevails In Trademark Lawsuit Over Keyword Advertising

Frito Lay Scooped On Infringement Claims

May 15, 2013

Defendants Medallion Foods, Inc. and Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. scored a jury verdict against Plaintiff Frito Lay on a variety of infringement claims. The Frito Lay claims were for trademark infringement, trade dress infringement, unfair competition and dilution under the United States Trademark (Lanham) Act, 15 U.S.C. ยง 1051, et seq. (as amended); and for patent … More Frito Lay Scooped On Infringement Claims

Stored Communications Act Update: Yahoo Wins Appeal

April 22, 2013

The Stored Communications Act “SCA” prevents unlawful access to stored electronic communications to promote freedom of expression and enhance subscriber privacy. The penalty for failing to comply with the SCA can result in a fine and/or imprisonment not to exceed 5 years for the 1st offense. There are exceptions permitting disclosure for a variety of … More Stored Communications Act Update: Yahoo Wins Appeal

Don’t Trust Your Lawyer’s Billing?

April 18, 2013

That’s how the Viewabill post, http://venturebeat.com/2013/04/13/dont-trust-your-lawyers-billing-try-viewabill/, in VentureBeat began. Even if viewabill is a reliable software product encouraging billing transparency, I can’t help wondering why a client would even consider using a law firm that can’t be trusted to render an honest and accurate account. Of all the trusted advisor relationships that of attorney-client should … More Don’t Trust Your Lawyer’s Billing?

Broadcasters Lose Their Copyright Infringement Appeal

April 9, 2013

Plaintiffs ABC and WNET head a list of Broadcasters who appealed from an Order of the New York Federal District Court denying their request for a preliminary injunction against Defendant Aereo, Inc. (“Aereo”) for copyright infringement claiming that its transmission of their broadcasts, while their programs are still airing, infringes upon their exclusive right to … More Broadcasters Lose Their Copyright Infringement Appeal

Digital Content Not Subject to First Sale Doctrine

April 3, 2013

The Federal District Court in New York has ruled that the resale of digital music infringed the copyrights held by the music rights-holders’ in Capitol Records LLC v. ReDigi Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-00095. The Defendant ReDigi provided a service allowing purchasers of songs from iTunes to upload their … More Digital Content Not Subject to First Sale Doctrine

Contributory Copyright Infringement By Inducement

March 25, 2013

Another recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case addressed contributory copyright infringement, in this case under the theory of inducement. Here, the Plaintiff movie studios sued the Defendant for maintaining websites that induced third parties to download infringing copies of the studios copyrighted works. The Federal District Court granted an injunction at the Summary Judgment … More Contributory Copyright Infringement By Inducement

Non-Disclosure Agreement: So What’s The Point?

February 14, 2013

Clients often are concerned, and rightly so, about disclosing their ideas, plans, business models, etc. to potential partners and investors. Oftentimes I’m asked to prepare, or more often download one of the many forms online, a non-disclosure agreement “NDA.” This agreement usually sets forth various terms with regard to the use of any information or … More Non-Disclosure Agreement: So What’s The Point?