Dear Doc: I heard the the “GMen” want Apple to unlock my iPhone, so that they can see the “stuff” I have saved in there. I thought my iPhone was encrypted and that only my passcode would open it. What gives? Signed, I’d Rather Not Say Dear Mr. Say: You heard mostly right. The FBI […]
All posts by: Adam Garson
Trademark Disputes Can Be So Sweeeet!
March 8, 2016
Trademark
In late 2013 we wrote about a trademark dispute between the Hershey Company and Mars Inc. over whether Mars had trademark rights in the cross-section of its Snickers candy bar. Hershey opposed the mark on grounds that it was merely descriptive, de jure functional, generic, and failed to function as a trademark. The cross-section of […]
Have a Great Idea for BMW? Forget About It!
March 1, 2016
Litigation
Have you ever had a great idea for an existing product? Were you dying to approach the manufacturer to suggest it? Do you think that the manufacturer would even listen to you? David Lazarus, an LA Times reporter, recently wrote about this subject. Mr. Lazarus recounts the experience of a Dr. Ron Aryel, who approached […]
Follow Up: Anne Frank’s Copyright
January 2, 2016
Copyright
Following up on a recent post, the copyright for the Diary of Anne Frank was set to expire in 2016 and, despite the controversy, so it did. The Verge reports that a spokesperson for French parliament member Isabelle Attard, posted a copy of the diary on her blog where she writes “welcome to the light, dear Anne.” Attard […]
Breaking News: The Diary of Anne Frank was Also Written by Her Father (or so they say)! Most of us are familiar with the Diary of Anne Frank in which a 13 year old girl writes in her own words about Nazi occupation and coming of age under the unimaginable circumstances of hiding under Nazi occupation. […]
Let’s Go Crazy and Support “Fair Use”
September 30, 2015
Copyright
In 2007, Stephanie Lenz posted a cute 29-second YouTube video of her 13-month-old son dancing and giggling to the music of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy”. Four seconds into the video Lenz asks her baby “what do you think of the music?” And the baby bobbles up and down holding his push toy. You have to […]
Taylor Swift’s Turn to Capitulate (Sort of…)
August 3, 2015
Copyright
In our last newsletter we wrote about Taylor Swift’s open letter to Apple, Inc. and the ensuing kerfuffle over Taylor Swift’s hypocrisy for the way she treated photographers covering her concerts. Just to recap, Swift’s letter to Apple scolded the company for not compensating artists during its customers’ 3-month free Apple Music trial. Apple, you […]
On the subject of interesting IP spats, here’s one that’s worth smiling (or frowning) over. You may know that Taylor Swift recently complained in an open letter to Apple about its using musicians’ work without compensation during the 3-month trial period of its new music streaming service (which, by the way, debuts today). Swift wrote: […]
There are many misconceptions about posting images on websites and social media. They range from believing everything online is free-for-the-taking to assuming that if you give attribution of ownership to an image, you’re not infringing someone’s copyright. These assumptions are just plain wrong. Just ask anybody who’s received a cease and desist letter and ended […]
Back in January, we were so bold as to state that “it’s not very often that the United States Supreme Court decides a trademark issue…” Well, it appears that Supreme Court pronouncements in the trademark field are more common than we thought, at least this year. On March 24, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court, inB&B […]