I’m frequently asked whether it’s ok to copy a picture found on the Internet, and use it on a website, or in a newsletter. My answer is always the same: “not unless you have permission.” The reason is this: making an unauthorized copy of someone else’s work is copyright infringement, and can subject you to substantial damages – … Read more
Kylie Minogue, the Australian singer, songwriter and actress, has been in the entertainment business for decades, and owns a family of trademark registrations for her name. Kylie Jenner, the American reality tv star, recently filed an application to register her name as a trademark. On February 22nd, Minogue commenced a legal proceeding in the United States Trademark Office … Read more
In time for Halloween, we thought we’d highlight this story from late September, involving the Batmobile and copyright litigation, both scary things. When you think of creative works that are protected by copyright, you may think of a movie, song or book. There are also less obvious examples of copyrightable works, however, such as the … Read more
Last night, as I was walking home from work, I noticed that a Lowe’s home improvement store (http://www.lowes.com/) had opened on the northeast corner of 68th and Broadway, directly across from the Loews movie theater (https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/new-york-city/amc-loews-lincoln-square-13), which occupies the southeast corner. There are two large signs, one for LOWE’S and the other for LOEWS, no … Read more
In light of changes to U.S. sanctions and export policy in Cuba, businesses should now consider brand protection in that country. Being first to file in Cuba will help to deter third parties from infringing your brand. And starting the process now will give you an advantage. The Cuban trademark clearance and application process is slow, … Read more
Entrepreneurs starting their businesses often follow a well-beaten path to get their companies off the ground, balancing the need to keep legal costs low against the necessity of some initial investment. Generally, entrepreneurs’ first legal spend includes company formation, agreement drafting (MSAs, NDAs, purchase order terms and conditions, terms of use, privacy policies, etc.), and … Read more
Two years ago, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization that runs the Internet, launched a controversial program to expand the number of top-level domain names (TLDs). Until recently, the real estate on the Internet was confined to traditional TLDs like .com, .net and .org; country code TLDs like .fr for … Read more
On March 24, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States held, in B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Indus., Inc., that administrative proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office may have preclusive effect in trademark infringement suits before a district court. This decision represents a drastic … Read more
Terms of Use (TOU) are, in effect, a contract between the users and the provider of a website. In the “olden” days (like 1992!), when websites were static and information was simply transmitted from the provider to the user, there was no need to set out explicit terms for the interaction. Today, many websites are … Read more
Last month, I wrote about trademark profiteering, concluding that attempts to monetize rallying cries by registering them as trademarks almost always fail. The USPTO proved me correct this month, when it denied two separate applications to register marks associated with Eric Garner. Eric Garner died in New York last year as the result of an … Read more
