Given that litigation in the United States can take years from start to finish, we rarely see a conclusion to the cases we follow. In a prior blog post, we looked at the potential recusal requirements of the U.S. Supreme...more
4/8/2025
/ Appeals ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Code of Conduct ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Fair Use ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internet Archive (IA) ,
Libraries ,
Recusal ,
SCOTUS ,
The Copyright Act
What happens if two-thirds of the U.S. Supreme Court justices have a conflict of interest in a case presented before the Court? The speculative possibilities are abundant in such a situation—do all of the affected Justices...more
The small blue bird adorning nearly every company’s social media section. The verbiage “tweet” and “retweet” working their way into the fabric of modern language. The creation of character-limited, short-form posts as a new...more
10/5/2023
/ Brand ,
Corporate Branding ,
Hashtags ,
Lanham Act ,
Public Communications ,
Rebranding ,
Social Networks ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Twitter ,
USPTO
The crinkle sound of the gold foil. The rich smell of honey and almond. The unique design of peaks and valleys. And the delicious taste of Swiss chocolate. There is little doubt that since its creation in 1908,...more
Slovenian-born Luka Doncic became a professional basketball player at the young age of sixteen years old and the towering height of 6’7”. He quickly made a name for himself, leading his Spanish team Real Madrid to the...more
10/14/2022
/ Athletes ,
Consent ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Name and Likeness ,
Revocation ,
Stare Decisis ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Cancellation ,
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
To end the harm following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, numerous forms of sanctions were imposed against the Russian government and economy. Many Western governments limited access to financial systems,...more
4/25/2022
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Foreign Relations ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Merchandising Rights ,
Russia ,
Television Shows ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Ukraine
What first started as a meme featuring a fluffy dog with poor grammar has now resulted in a trademark fight over the ownership of an estimated $80 billion brand. If the progression of this Internet sensation has left your...more
10/5/2021
/ Abandonment ,
Blockchain ,
Brand ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Internet Memes ,
Lanham Act ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Popular ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Virtual Currency
In the 1970s, William DuBay created the comic book character, Restin Dane, also known by his superhero alter ego, “The Rook.” Dane, a wealthy scientist and inventor residing in an Arizona house shaped like a rook chess piece,...more
In the ever-raging battle against trademark infringers gobbling up domain names for squatting purposes, trademark owners received a new tool in their arsenal, thanks to a recent update with the Ongoing Notification Service of...more
In June of 2017, channeling the Seussian musings of the case at hand, we first introduced you to the Southern District of California case, Seuss Enters., L.P. v. Comicmix LLC, 372 F. Supp. 3d 1101 (S.D. Cal. 2019), which...more
In an apparent win for musicians seeking to sample other’s works, on February 3, 2020, the Second Circuit declined to revive a copyright lawsuit against hip-hop musician Drake for his sampling of a 1980s spoken-word jazz...more
Late last year, in a decision that bears continued attention, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board held that oppositions to Madrid Protocol applications filed under Section 66(a) are limited to the grounds set forth in the...more
Did you celebrate with a sip of Champagne on New Year’s Eve? Champagne is not just a sparkly beverage consumed around the world, it also refers to the region in northeastern France where the drink originated....more