In 2011, H. R. 2511, “Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act” was an attempt by Congress to extend copyright protection to fashion design. The bill died in Congress and never received a vote. To this day, fashion designs remain unprotected under U.S. copyright law. One fashion-related area that has received considerable attention, however, is in the […]
Blog – Adam Garson Law
As a scrappy Silicon Valley startup, Google’s motto was “Don’t Be Evil”. The phrase was part of the employee Code of Conduct and was even the Wi-Fi password for its company shuttles. The phrase disappeared from the Code of Conduct in 2018, long after Google had become an Internet search giant and had begun acting […]
Ask Dr. Copyright About Bringing Lawsuits
January 28, 2021
Ask Dr. Copyright
Dear Doc: I’ve heard you say many times that Americans have a right to sue each other for any reason, so lawyers can’t tell their clients that they won’t get sued, only that in a properly adjudicated case, they have a high probability of prevailing. Aren’t there ANY limits on lawsuits? Signed,Fed Up Dear FU: […]
Bling and the Ordinary Observer Test
January 21, 2021
Patent
Utility patents protect what things are, how they work, or ways of doing things. An example is the guillotine mousetrap that works by, well, the name says it all. Design patents protect the ornamental design of a product, for example this mousetrap that looks like a demented cat. The topic this month is design patents. Let’s say that […]
2021 Brings New Trademark Fees
January 14, 2021
Trademark
2021 brings new trademark fees. The PTO states: “The overall strategy of the Final Rule is to balance a reasonable and affordable fee schedule with sufficient multi-year revenue to recover the aggregate costs of maintaining the USPTO’s trademark-related operations and accomplishing the USPTO’s trademark-related strategic goals. The Final Rule enables the USPTO to continue to enhance […]
At the end of December 2020, Congress passed an “omnibus” bill which justifiably received significant attention for providing financial relief during the coronavirus pandemic. Included in the legislation, in addition to the changes to trademark law discussed above, were also new laws related to copyright: the CASE Act and the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act. The CASE Act […]
New Trademark Rules: Legislators Seek to Streamline the PTO
December 31, 2020
Trademark
On Sunday, December 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the $2.3 trillion coronavirus relief and government funding bill. Included within the massive piece of legislation are a number of new laws specifically addressing intellectual property issues, including the 2020 Trademark Modernization Act (TMA), the Case Act and other copyright related legislation discussed in another article […]
Dear Doc: I have always heard the maxim that the pen is mightier than the sword. But is it mightier than a loaded AR15? Signed,Just Asking For A Friend in St. Louis Dear “Friend”: The maxim that you cite is hoary, indeed, dating in English from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s 1839 play, “Cardinal Richelieu”. The thought, however, […]
It’s Official: Patent Examiner Interviews are da Bomb
December 10, 2020
Patent
The patent application process is essentially a negotiation between the patent applicant, represented by his or her patent attorney or patent agent, and the Federal government, represented by the patent examiner. Most communications between the applicant and the examiner are written, in the form of the application itself, office actions by the examiner, and responses and […]
Keeping Up with Fast-Changing Privacy Laws
December 3, 2020
Internet Law, Privacy
How much personal data do you collect from customers, and what privacy laws apply to your business? Recent privacy violations have resulted in penalties of thousands or millions of dollars, with Facebook paying a record FTC fine of $5 billion. Every business needs to know its compliance requirements and potential exposure. Yet the current proliferation […]