We’ve written a lot about the “fair use” concept in the copyright context but did you know that there is also a fair use concept in trademark law? Here’s a case that illustrates the point. In 2012, the Naked Cowboy (yes, you read it correctly) of New York City fame, sued CBS for trademark infringement […]
All posts by: Adam Garson
So, do you know what an “appropriation artist” is? It’s an artist who uses preexisting objects or images to create new works of art. While you might guess that appropriation artists keep many a copyright lawyer employed they also sell their works for large sums of money. Take for example, Richard Prince, perhaps, the most […]
Kirtsaeng Wins Before the Supreme Court!
March 28, 2013
Copyright
If you’re a regular reader of our newsletter, you may recall in 2011 our writing about Supap Kirtsaeng’s legal problems when he was sued by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (“Wiley”) for selling text books on e-bay. Kirtsaeng, a Thai national, opened a used textbook business in 2009 to support his educational studies in the […]
Terms of Service Didn’t Read
February 28, 2013
Internet Law
If you thought reading privacy policies was a was a waste of time you were right. The Carnegie Mellon Institute calculated that it would take 10 minutes to read the privacy policies of the 75 most popular websites at the standard reading rate of 250 words per minute. The medium length of privacy policies from […]
Check Those Employee Handbooks!
January 31, 2013
Internet Law
There have been a spate of reporting about the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) recent decisions about the use of social media by employees. You may think that an employer should have absolute control over its employees’ right to talk about the employer or its customers on the Internet, but that is not the case. […]
Privacy in the Age of Apps
December 31, 2012
Internet Law
If you use or develop online software or smartphone “apps” then you need to know about CalOPPA. No, that’s not some form of steam-driven musical device from an old-time carousel. It’s the California Online Privacy Protection Act, and it has very real consequences for any company that does business online. This month, the State of California […]
Notice or Not: ©
December 31, 2012
Copyright
In late November, David Pogue of the New York Times wrote about a hoaxer who plastered Facebook sites with an unsolicited message that stated: In response to the new Facebook guidelines, I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, comics, paintings, crafts, professional photos and videos, etc. (as […]
Consider this scenario: you have gone to all the time and expense to obtain a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. You have launched your product and your sales are good. Now a pirate is copying your product and stealing your sales. Are you entitled to a court order stopping infringement of your […]
Unified European Patent
December 31, 2012
Patent
If you want to protect a product by patent in Europe today, you generally will file an application in the European Patent Office (“EPO”). When your application is (eventually) reviewed and approved by the EPO, you then must register the approved application with each individual European country in which you desire a patent and must […]
The Dead Hand of William Faulkner Claims Foul
November 30, 2012
Copyright
The estate of William Faulkner is furious. In the past month it has filed two copyright infringement lawsuits, one against Sony Picture Classics and another against Northrop Grumman Corporation and the Washington Post Company. In the Sony case, the Faulkner Estate claims that Sony infringed Faulkner’s copyright in the famous phrase from Requiem for a […]