In April 2016, the European Union (“EU”) enacted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You may ask, I’m a U.S. business so why should I care. It may be obvious but the United States is the EU’s largest trading partner. You may think that Europe is a far away place but any regulation that affects […]
All posts by: Adam Garson
Tom Brady’s Image Places Internet Linking In Peril
April 5, 2018
Copyright
In 2016 Justin Goldman, a photographer, snapped a photograph of NFL quarterback Tom Brady and Boston Celtics president, Danny Ainge, strolling together in the Hamptons. According to reports, the Celtics were at the time attempting to recruit NBA star Kevin Durrant. Goldman uploaded his photograph to Snapchat after which it went viral being posted on […]
Free Mickey Mouse!
March 8, 2018
Copyright
Last year our own Dr. Copyright wrote: “Today’s copyright system is broken in some important ways. Because it has poorly defined fair use standards and exclusive rights last so long (thanks to Sonny Bono and the Mickey Mouse Copyright Term Extension Act – 95+ years), a great deal of what we used to think of […]
Marijuana Madness
February 8, 2018
Trademark
Marijuana has become big business. We never thought it would happen but now 29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana and eight states have legalized pot for recreational use. But alas, federal law, still classifies cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act meaning that cannabis […]
Emoji Madness
January 18, 2018
Internet Law
An Israeli landlord places an online ad for an apartment and obtains a response from an interested renter. According to reports, the renter wrote (original in Hebrew): Based upon several follow-up communications, the landlord removes his online advertisement. A few days later, the would-be renters disappear. What’s a landlord to do? He’s a businessman so […]
A Holiday IP Story
December 7, 2017
Copyright
Keeping in the holiday spirit, here’s an IP story that will sweeten your day. Protecting recipes with the traditional tools of intellectual property is difficult. Recipes are typically not copyrightable subject matter because, as merely a list of ingredients with directions on how to combine them, a recipe does not have the modicum of creativity […]
Thumbnail Images – Infringement or Fair Use?
November 2, 2017
Copyright
A few years ago, at the behest of some photographers, we wrote about whether uploading images to Flickr.com or Instagram was equivalent to “publication” under the Copyright Act. We concluded that it is. Another “photographic” issue has arisen in our practice, whether thumbnail images posted on a website or on an e-mail, could be construed as permissible “fair use” […]
© 2017 Solid Oak Sketches?
October 13, 2017
Copyright
If you are a regular reader of our newsletter, you may recall that in 2014 we wrote about a copyright case involving Mike Tyson’s Maori-inspired facial tattoo. In that case, the tattoo artist, Victor Whitmill, sued Warner Brothers Entertainment in an attempt to stop the release of the movie, “Hangover Part II.” in which one […]
Doing Business Abroad? Be Prepared!
September 8, 2017
Intellectual Property
Many small to medium size businesses go to great pains to protect their intellectual property under United States law. It makes sense given that they, typically, do not sell their goods and services beyond our national frontier. So they register trademarks and patents with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), register copyrights with […]
How to Pick a Trademark that Won’t be Rejected by the USPTO At Lipton, Weinberger & Husick, we spend a lot of time reviewing office actions issued to clients who filed trademarks on their own or with a trademark service like LegalZoom or Trademarkia. Registration services provide only the bare essentials when it comes to […]