Posted in Internet, Patents, Trademarks, Unfair Competition on March 6, 2013
We’re back with your latest dose of IP news. This week is largely about sports and social media. Under Armour is suing Nike for infringement of Under Armour’s slogan “I will… protect this house.” Nike has recently been using the phrase “I Will” in various promotional materials. Under Armour’s complaint alleges that Nike’s use of [...]
Posted in Copyright, Entertainment, Internet, Trademarks on February 20, 2013
Greetings! Seems like the cheese themes just keep coming – along with some music news this week. There is also some excellent news also for student inventors at Purdue. You probably know that sparkling wine must come from a specific region in France in order to be called “champagne.” You may also recall our discussion [...]
Posted in Trade Secrets, Trademarks on February 13, 2013
This week, we’re talking about Apple, Cracker Barrel, and Goodyear. We all know that Apple is rather zealous about protecting its intellectual property. However, its latest bid for IP protection is not for a product or a component, but for “the design and layout of a retail store.” The USPTO finally granted the sought protection [...]
Posted in Copyright, Entertainment, Internet, Trademarks on January 4, 2013
This week’s news is all about free speech. Your anti-boss rant on Facebook may not get you fired after all. Surprise! What brands can say in the U.S., they may not be able to say overseas. And, check out the opposing decisions in the fair use cases below. Where do you think the dividing line [...]
Posted in Copyright, Trademarks, Unfair Competition on December 20, 2012
The latest IP news installment deals with knives, books, shoes, and tattoos. Because really, what more does anyone need? A federal court of appeal recently upheld a $480,000.00 award in a copyright infringement case involving two tattoo art companies. TAT International had licensed designs for stencils for temporary tattoos and continued using the designs after [...]
Posted in Copyright, Entertainment, Internet, Patents, Trademarks on December 5, 2012
It sometimes seems like many of our stories have common facts as their basis. There are lessons here. Don’t use music you haven’t purchased (particularly when you’re a big, highly visible company). And don’t sell counterfeit goods. Simple, right? The Black Keys have been busy – not only promoting their wildly-successful latest album, El Camino, [...]
Posted in Copyright, Entertainment, Trademarks on November 26, 2012
This week’s blog is mostly about trademarks, but not entirely. The law refuses to be packaged into a neat little box sometimes, try as we might. Speaking of surprises, Gap got a nasty surprise recently when it was hit with a lawsuit from shoe designer Charles Philip. The complaint alleges that the Gap is copying [...]
