Trademark

TM is for Trademarks

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 […]

uploading photos

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 […]

Copyright

If you ever doubted the economic importance of branding, take a look at the 2013 World Intellectual Property Report authored by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).  For the  period from 1987 to 2011, United States investments in branding accounted for close to a quarter of all intangible asset investments!  Brand ranking organizations value the […]

combo lock

OMG, I have to try one of these…. That appears to be the general consensus about the so-called “Cronut,” the new New York City food sensation.  Early morning lines stretch around the block with customers lining up to buy this croissant-donut hybrid two hours before the Dominique Ansel Bakery in SoHo opens.  It’s so wild […]

TM is for Trademarks

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 […]

Designs for patents

Dear Doc: I have heard that there is something called “trade dress” that can be legally protected, and that it’s different from trade mark and also from design patent and copyright?  What gives? Signed, Sam Sung Dear Sam: Trade dress is pretty broadly defined as the visual impression created by the sum of all elements […]

TM is for Trademarks

Trademark lawyers often enjoy following trademark disputes involving  famous trademarks. If you haven’t heard about Apple Computer’s court battle over ownership rights for the “iPad” trademark in China, read on. The Chinese owner of the “iPad” trademark is not Apple but  a beleaguered video display manufacturer known as Proview.  In 2001, Proview obtained rights to the […]

Internet and Intellectual Property

You’ve probably heard about the bankruptcy of Eastman Kodak Company.  Yes, everyone sees the irony in a once successful company famous for its technical innovations failing to keep pace with the rapid speed of digital technology.  Should we write off Kodak and leave it to the dry and dusty bins of history — as one […]