The Briefing: New California Laws for Digital Replicas Both Live and Dead
(Podcast) The Briefing: Trump Train Derailed In “Electric Avenue” Copyright Lawsuit
The Briefing: Trump Train Derailed In “Electric Avenue” Copyright Lawsuit
(Podcast) The Briefing: “Hold On” – You Can’t Use That Music in Your Presidential Campaign
The Briefing: “Hold On” – You Can’t Use That Music in Your Presidential Campaign
(Podcast) The Briefing: Does This Court’s Ruling Put an End to Tattoo Copyright Cases?
The Briefing: Does This Court’s Ruling Put an End to Tattoo Copyright Cases?
The latest on: NFL Anti-Trust decision; Record Labels Sue Over Generative AI; Copyright Office clarifies Termination Rights, Royalties, Transfers, Disputes, and the MMA.
The Briefing: No Copyright Protection in Fitness Routines for Celebrity Trainer Tracy Anderson [PODCAST]
The Briefing: No Copyright Protection in Fitness Routines for Celebrity Trainer Tracy Anderson
The Briefing: Not Terminated - Cher Still Entitled to Her Share of Music Royalties
The Briefing: Not Terminated - Cher Still Entitled to Her Share of Music Royalties (Podcast)
SCOTUS and federal court rulings on TTAB decisions on granting trademarks and trademark renewals; Netflix settling an anticipated defamation case with a disclaimer and donation
The Briefing: Supreme Court Holds Copyright Damages Can Go Beyond 3 Years (Podcast)
The Briefing: Supreme Court Holds Copyright Damages Can Go Beyond 3 Years
SCOTUS applies the "discovery rule" in timely copyright infringement claim; Cher wins in Marital Settlement Agreement vs Copyright Grant Termination Notices; Student Athletes Win Revenue Share and NIL
Your AI Compliance Playbook: Case Studies in Business & Legal Risk Management
The Briefing: Another Court Gets It Right in Tattoo Copyright Dispute
The Briefing: Paramount Splashes Top Gun Maverick Copyright Lawsuit
Apropos of points made in “Do Not Pass ‘Go,’” a graphic designer filed an idea theft suit against Nike, Inc. in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas. In the March 31 suit, the graphic designer claims Nike...more
The laws involved in protecting board games are complicated. Various websites, forums, and Reddit threads attempt to answer questions from game designers on what they are allowed to do when designing their games, as well as...more
The US Copyright Office Review Board (“Board”) rejected a request to register a computer-generated image of a landscape for copyright protection, explaining that a work must be created by a human being to obtain a copyright....more
Last month the District Court for the Central District of California granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment in the case San Diego Gulls Hockey Club, LLC v ECHL, Inc.. The league’s win resolves the league’s...more
Attorney Elizabeth M. Sbardellati recently presented "Trademarks & Copyrights: How to Protect Your IP Without Breaking the Bank" to a group of women startup owners as part of the Women Founders Network organization. A summary...more
Last month American Airlines, Inc. successfully landed its turbulent pursuit to register its “Flight Symbol” logo with the Copyright Office, after the Copyright Office Review Board (CORB) electively revisited and reversed its...more
In light of a possible no deal Brexit, businesses need to consider the impact such a scenario would have on their intellectual property rights, in particular trade marks, designs, patents and copyrights. For the majority of...more
The Supreme Court’s decision in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands established a new and simplified test for determining whether useful articles can obtain copyright protection. Many have wondered, in the year since it was...more
Growing frustration in the fashion community regarding weak or non-existent intellectual property laws has finally caught the attention of some nations. Nigeria is one nation that currently is trying to alleviate this...more
After considering almost a year’s worth of substantive briefing (including fifteen separate amicus briefs), oral argument, at least ten distinct tests employed in courts throughout the country, as well as numerous novel tests...more
The US Supreme Court’s ruling in Star Athletica v Varsity Brands provides a path to copyrightability for pictorial or graphical elements of clothing designs and useful articles. Laura Ganoza and Julie McGinnis of Foley &...more
In a 6–2 decision authored by Justice Thomas, the Supreme Court of the United States provided guidance as to whether aesthetic designs of a cheerleading uniform, such as stripes, chevrons, zigzags and color blocks, are...more
This article continues the discussion in an earlier article addressing the scope of copyright protection as it applies to useful goods under copyright law. At the time the first article was written, Varsity Brands, Inc. v....more
A recent U.S. Supreme Court copyright decision analyzing cheerleader uniforms may have a profound impact on retailers, and on the fashion industry in particular. On March 22, 2017, the Supreme Court held in Star Athletica,...more
In a landmark 6-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved "widespread disagreement" among lower courts and held that the artistic elements in a functional article – such as the cheerleading uniform at issue in this case –...more
Supreme Court Restricts the Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Patent Law for Exported Goods - On February 22, 2017, the Supreme Court in a landmark decision held that the supply of a single component of a multicomponent...more
The Supreme Court recently held in Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc., that the designs on certain cheerleader uniforms may be protected copyrights. The 6-2 decision clarified the test to be applied when...more
On March 22, 2017, the Supreme Court established a test for determining whether a design that is incorporated into a useful article is entitled to copyright protection. In its much-awaited opinion in Star Athletica, L.L.C. v....more
Summary - In Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc., 580 U.S. ___ (2017), the Supreme Court clarified the test for whether artistic features of a useful article are separable and therefore copyright eligible. The...more
Last week the Supreme Court articulated a test for the copyrightability of apparel designs. The test does not increase the protection available to the apparel industry, but it does provide clarity for determining when an...more
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, issued their opinion on Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands. The Court affirmed the 6th Circuit, holding that the lines, chevrons, and colorful shapes of Varsity’s...more
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Star Athletica L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc. clarifies that the original designs on useful articles, such as common household items and personal electronics, may be protected by...more
The U.S. Supreme Court issued their opinion on Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands on Wednesday, March 22. Should fashion designers rejoice or be fearful? That depends. Designers who repeatedly have original fashion designs...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two opinions on intellectual property issues. On March 21, 2017, the Court decided in a 7-1 opinion that laches is no longer a valid defense to a claim of patent infringement occurring...more
In a decision that may have broader implications in the U.S. fashion industry, the U.S. Supreme Court in Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc. (No. 15-866) ruled that the decorative elements on a cheerleading uniform...more