17 USC 102(a) provides copyright protection for original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated,...more
2017 saw a bumper crop of Supreme Court decisions on intellectual property matters around the world including eight by the United States Supreme Court, two by the Canadian Supreme Court, and two by the United Kingdom Supreme...more
4/12/2018
/ Apple v Samsung ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Huawei ,
Impression Products v Lexmark International ,
Life Technologies Corp v Promega Corp ,
Matal v Tam ,
NVIDIA ,
Oil States Energy Services v Greene's Energy Group ,
On-Sale Bar ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Samsung ,
Sandoz v Amgen ,
SCA Hygiene Products Aktiebolag v First Quality Baby Products ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
TC Heartland LLC v Kraft Foods ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Young Lawyers
On March 22, 2017, the United States Supreme Court in the case of Star Athletica LLC v Varsity Brands LLC affirmed a decision of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that copyright protection could exist in surface...more
3/28/2017
/ Cheerleaders ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Fashion Design ,
Graphic Designs ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 101 ,
Separability ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
Uniforms
The District Court of Milan referred questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary opinion on the interrelation of the EU’s Council Directive 93/98 on the duration of copyright protection and...more
Prior to a recent change in the law, copyright protection in an artistic work expired after 25 years if articles embodying the work had been applied industrially (defined as making more than fifty articles). This kept the...more
12/15/2016
/ Artistic Works ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Designs and Patents Act ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Terms ,
Furniture Industry ,
Graphic Designs ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Manufacturers ,
Mass Produced Items ,
Originality ,
UK
In a June 23, 2016 referendum, the combined electorates of the United Kingdom and Gibraltar voted in favor of the United Kingdom, and consequently Gibraltar, leaving the European Union (EU).
According to Article 50 of...more
7/5/2016
/ Article 50 Treaty of the EU ,
Community Designs ,
Copyright ,
Design Patent ,
EPO ,
EU ,
European Communities Act ,
European Patent Convention ,
European Patent Office ,
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Member State ,
Patents ,
Referendums ,
Trademark Act ,
Trademarks ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unified Patent Court ,
Unitary Patent
The case of Kirstaeng v. Wiley hit the headlines in 2013 when the Supreme Court held that importation and sale in the United States of books bought from the copyright owner in Thailand was not an infringement of copyright,...more
This year the IP world will be brimming with changes, the largest of which will take place in the European Union. Sweeping reforms in EU trademark law will be implemented in March as well as the likelihood of the Unitary...more
2/24/2016
/ Apple v Samsung ,
Brazil ,
Canada ,
China ,
Copyright ,
Cuozzo Speed Technologies v Lee ,
Design Patent ,
Eli Lilly ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
FRAND ,
Halo v Pulse ,
Japan ,
Lanham Act ,
Lexmark ,
Madrid Protocol ,
Patent Litigation ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Redskins ,
SCOTUS ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Litigation ,
UK ,
Unitary Patent ,
World Intellectual Property Organisation
In recent years, protection of designs has become of increasing importance. As Steve Jobs famously noted:
“People think it’s this veneer — that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’ That’s...more