All posts by: Adam Garson

About Adam Garson

Legal Notes on Cryptocurrency and Blockchains

September 13, 2018 Technology

We recently received an inquiry about whether we had expertise in cryptocurrency law.  It was the first such inquiry we ever received.  We did some research and here are some notes on a subject untouched in our 10 years of writing this newsletter. We’ve all heard about cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and others, but what […]

Candy Bars Make Trademark News Yet Again

August 9, 2018 Trademark

In 2013, we wrote about the branding wars between candy bar makers.  These disputes are good measure of the boundaries between 3-D trademarks that have acquired distinctiveness (registrable) and those that are functional (not registrable). In 2006, Nestlé was granted trademark rights in the “distinctive” shape of its KitKat bar in various European countries.  But […]

Getting Your Privacy Policy Right Under the GDPR

July 5, 2018 Internet Law, Privacy

We recently wrote about the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and how it might affect your business operations.  You may recall that the main focus of the GDPR is the protection of personal data and digital privacy. If you offer products and services to EU citizens or collect, use, or share personal information […]

Smelling the Doh – Registering an Iconic Smell with the USPTO

June 7, 2018 Trademark

Registering an Iconic Smell The distinctive smell of Play-Doh evokes memories of many happy hours of childhood play, those of my children and mine. Perhaps, if you played with the colored “doh,” you probably share similar nostalgia.  Hasbro has been making Play-Doh since the 1950’s and its distinct odor is not natural but a fragrance […]

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 […]

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