It’s not very often that the United States Supreme Court decides a trademark issue but this month the Supremes delivered an opinion on a question of trademark law called “tacking.” So what is “tacking?” If you know, you probably should be reading a more advanced blog, but if you don’t, tacking is a doctrine for establishing […]
All posts by: Adam Garson
Do you remember the Turtles? They were the originators of such memorable hits as “Happy Together,” “It Ain’t Me Babe,” and “She’d Rather Be with Me.” The band was formed in 1965 and by 1970 was on the decline. You may think that when the Turtle’s hits were recorded they were protected by U.S. copyright […]
Fixed in a Tangible Medium … Tattoo Art
October 30, 2014
Copyright
Now that sporting a tattoo has gone mainstream, it would only stand to reason – – given that tattoos are creative expressions fixed in a tangible medium (skin) – – that tattoo artists seek protection of their designs under copyright law. To date, few copyright cases involving tattoos have been filed but we’ve learned that […]
LWH Scores Another Success Against Domainer
September 30, 2014
Internet Law
Lipton, Weinberger & Husick (“LWH”) recently scored another success against domainer, Marchex, Inc. Here’s some background. Domainers – those who speculate in domain names – set up web sites for purposes of selling a domain or obtaining pay-per-click revenues. When the domain is identical or similar to another company’s trademark, trademark owners will attempt to […]
Hit Show Upsets Pennsylvanians (and others)!
August 29, 2014
Trademark
You may have heard about the Discovery channel’s popular TV series, Amish Mafia. The Discovery Channel describes the show: Untrusting of outside law enforcement, some Amish in Lancaster County, PA have for many years regularly turned to a small organized group of men for protection and justice. Discovery’s new series Amish Mafia provides a first-ever […]
Trademarks, Personal Names, and Chocolate
July 31, 2014
Trademark
A client recently asked whether he could apply to register his personal name as a trademark. Of course, just ask Lebron James, Sarah Palin, Arnold Schwarzeneggr, or Elvis (if you catch sight of him), all of whom registered their names as trademarks. Does that mean if your name is “Joe,” you can register “Joe’s Bar” […]
Skins Lose Trademark Game Before the TTAB
June 28, 2014
Trademark
If you haven’t heard by now, this past week the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office canceled several trademarks owned by Pro-Football, Inc. (“Pro Football”) for the term “Redskins” on grounds that the marks were “disparaging to Native Americans.” This issue has been around for some time […]
This week, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion of great importance to those wishing to enforce their copyrights. In Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., the Supreme Court clarified confusion among lower courts about whether the doctrine of laches (also known as unreasonable delay) could bar a lawsuit for copyright infringement. While the court’s opinion […]
New gTLD’s … New Burdens
March 30, 2014
Internet Law
You may recall that we reported about “one of the biggest changes in the Domain Name System” was about to be implemented by ICANN, which was introducing hundreds of new top level domains that could “end with almost any word in any language.” So, instead of such dependable and familiar domains like “nike.com” and “nikon.com”, […]
How Sweet it is…The Candy Crush Saga
February 28, 2014
Trademark
Have you ever played the mobile app game, “Candy Crush Saga” by King.com, Ltd. (“King”)? Are you addicted to it? Not me, you say. More power to you because by some reports King earns a million dollars a day from users who actually pay for the chance to continue using this “free” game. The way […]