When Louis Vuitton tries to make you change your brand name; BBC, January 27, 2024

Laurence Cawley & Sally Beadle, BBC; When Louis Vuitton tries to make you change your brand name

"IPO Tribunal Judge Matthew Williams found in the couple's favour, deciding Louis Vuitton's opposition had failed "on all grounds"...

Melanie Harvey, a legal director at Birketts LLP and a chartered trade mark attorney, says the Osborne's case is far from unique.

She says in the past 18 months there has been a "huge" rise big firms seeking to protect their trademarks. She says clothing businesses, champagne makers and high end brands were particularly busy protecting their identities at the moment."

Two arrested after US storage facility emptied of $1bn in ‘massive amounts of knock-off designer goods’; The Guardian, November 16, 2023

Jenna Amatulli, The Guardian; Two arrested after US storage facility emptied of $1bn in ‘massive amounts of knock-off designer goods’

"Federal prosecutors arrested two men on Wednesday and seized more than 200,000 counterfeit handbags, clothes and other luxury items worth $1.03bn, making it “the largest-ever seizure of counterfeit goods in US history”...

Ivan Arvelo, special agent in charge of homeland security investigations, praised the findings in a statement, claiming it “underscores the unwavering commitment of HSI New York in the fight against intellectual property theft and serves as a testament to the dedication of our team and partner agencies, who have tirelessly pursued justice, culminating in the largest-ever seizure of this kind”...

Hand added that the counterfeit market is a “significant problem not just for luxury fashion brands and the dilution of their trademarks’ values but also for consumers and society at large as many counterfeit products are produced in oppressive labor environments and without any adherence to ecological production methods (if implemented by brands)”."

What 70% of Americans Don’t Understand About Intellectual Property; Stites & Harbison, October 26, 2023

Mandy Wilson Decker, Stites & Harbison; What 70% of Americans Don’t Understand About Intellectual Property

"The United States Intellectual Property Alliance (USIPA) recently published the results of its US Intellectual Property Awareness & Attitudes Survey. Among its findings, the survey results revealed that 70% of Americans are unable to distinguish between mechanisms – patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets – for protecting Intellectual Property (IP).

Given these results, it's worth exploring the principal mechanisms for protecting IP, which each possess some distinctive features."

Learn about government resources for protecting your intellectual property; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), September 1, 2023

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); Learn about government resources for protecting your intellectual property

"Join us at our next Patent Pro Bono Program: Pathways to inclusive innovation event on October 11 from 12:30-5:30 p.m. ET, virtually or in person at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. 

During this event, leaders in the intellectual property (IP) and small business community will share their stories and tips on how to protect your IP via patents and trademarks. We welcome all current and aspiring entrepreneurs interested in learning more about:

• Succeeding in business
• Identifying and protecting IP
• Securing options for funding
• Expanding business networks

A detailed agenda with speakers is listed on our event page.

Registration is required for in-person and online attendees. Seats for in-person attendance are limited, so register now to secure your spot. 

For questions about this event, please contact probono@uspto.gov"

Law’s Elizabeth Rosenblatt explains copyright ownership in relation to Trump’s mugshot; Case Western Reserve University, The Daily, September 1, 2023

Case Western Reserve University, The Daily ; Law’s Elizabeth Rosenblatt explains copyright ownership in relation to Trump’s mugshot

"Can you legally use Trump’s mugshot on merchandise?

Spectrum News: Elizabeth Rosenblatt, the Oliver C. Schroeder Jr. Distinguished Research Scholar and associate director of the Spangenberg Center for Law, Technology and the Arts at the School of Law, said that copyright ownership of mugshots applies in most jurisdictions. Questions arose following the recent release of former President Donald Trump’s mugshot for his arrest for meddling in the 2020 election. “Whether the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department would decide to enforce its copyright is entirely up to them,” Rosenblatt said."

Introduction to Intellectual Property; West Virginia Libraries (WVU) , Tuesday, August 29, 2023

West Virginia Libraries (WVU) ; Introduction to Intellectual Property

"Curious about Trademarks, Copyrights, Patents, & Trade Secrets? Join us for an overview of intellectual property.

 Intellectual Property by Marian Armour-Gemmen"

Meta, Microsoft, hundreds more own trademarks to new Twitter name; Reuters, July 25, 2023

 Blake Brittain, Reuters; Meta, Microsoft, hundreds more own trademarks to new Twitter name

"Billionaire Elon Musk's decision to rebrand Twitter as X could be complicated legally: companies including Meta (META.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) already have intellectual property rights to the same letter.

X is so widely used and cited in trademarks that it is a candidate for legal challenges - and the company formerly known as Twitter could face its own issues defending its X brand in the future.

"There's a 100% chance that Twitter is going to get sued over this by somebody," said trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who said he counted nearly 900 active U.S. trademark registrations that already cover the letter X in a wide range of industries."

Tolkien Estate Suing Author for LOTR Rip-Off; Kirkus, June 5, 2023

MICHAEL SCHAUB, Kirkus; Tolkien Estate Suing Author for LOTR Rip-Off

"J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate is suing an author who it claims ripped off the author’s Lord of the Ringsbooks, Bloomberg Law reports.

The Tolkien Trust filed suit against an author named Demetrious Polychron, who wrote a sequel to the author’s famous series called The Fellowship of the King. The title references The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King, respectively the first and third installments of the Lord of the Rings trilogy."

Jack Daniel's tells Supreme Court its brand is harmed by dog toy Bad Spaniels; NPR, March 22, 2023

Nina Totenberg, NPR ; Jack Daniel's tells Supreme Court its brand is harmed by dog toy Bad Spaniels

"This case involves the federal trademark statutes and whether and when parody is protected speech. The whiskey company claims that the imitation Bad Spaniels bottle has appropriated the iconic Jack Daniel's design for just one purpose, to sell a chewy dog toy. And by doing that, the company claims, Jack's property rights have been infringed, even if the chewy dog toy is expressive."

NASA unveils new spacesuit specially tailored for lunar wear; The Business Standard, March 18, 2023

 Reuters via The Business Standard; NASA unveils new spacesuit specially tailored for lunar wear

"The precise look of the suits, however, remained a closely guarded trade secret. Those on display came with an outer layer that was charcoal grey with dashes of orange and blue and Axiom's logo on the chest - intended to obscure Axiom's proprietary outer fabric design."

NFTs are creating trademark problems. For these Minnesota lawyers, expertise is a commodity; Star Tribune, March 8, 2023

 Nick Williams, Star Tribune; NFTs are creating trademark problems. For these Minnesota lawyers, expertise is a commodity

"For NFT creators, knowing what they can register for trademark or patent protection is not clear-cut, either. That's a significant piece of the NFT-law equation, considering the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has received more than 10,000 trademark applications for NFT-related goods and services over the last few years, said Kathi Vidal, undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, during a recent online panel.

"And we expect that number to grow," she said.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and U.S. Copyright Office are working on a study with input from industry experts to determine how the nation should proceed with NFT laws. The study, a response to a request from the U.S. Senate subcommittee on intellectual property, will help officials determine what policies are to be supported, and what position the U.S. takes on the matter, Vidal said."

Libraries offering Intellectual Property workshop series; WV Mountaineer ENews, February 13, 2023

WV Mountaineer ENews; Libraries offering Intellectual Property workshop series

"This series of Intellectual Property workshops includes introduction, copyright, trademarks, and patents. While these workshops primarily focus on how to search, the participant will learn different aspects of IP as well as familiarity with websites. 

Trademarks: What's In a Name
If you have a new business name or a new product, attend this workshop and learn how to protect your name and avoid counterfeiting someone else’s. 
Register for this workshop scheduled for 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21

Patents: Learning How to Search
Knowing how to search patents is helpful for inventors to see what similar items already exist and it can help in researching older technologies and figuring out how a new technology works. Attend this workshop to learn about how searching patents using classification will assist you.
Register for this workshop scheduled for 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 7 

Copyright and your Thesis or Dissertation
Join us for a workshop specifically about copyright and graduate student work. We will cover copyright issues specific to theses and dissertations, including your rights as a user of others’ work, the permissions you need to gain, and your own rights over your ETD.
Register for the workshop scheduled for 11 a.m. to noon Monday, March 27 

Register for the workshop scheduled for 2-3 p.m. Tuesday, April 4

Register for the workshop scheduled for 2-3 p.m. Tuesday, April 12"

Bad Spaniel's: barking the line between permitted parody and trademark infringement; Reuters, February 15, 2023

Deirdre M. Wells, William H. Milliken, and Kristina Caggiano Kelly, Reuters; Bad Spaniel's: barking the line between permitted parody and trademark infringement

"The 9th Circuit ultimately vacated the district court's judgment on trademark infringement, based on the two-part Rogers test. The Rogers test was established in the 1989 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Rogers v. Grimaldi, and balances trademark and free speech rights. Under this test, a trademark can be used without authorization as long as it meets a minimal level of artistic expression and does not explicitly mislead consumers.

To overcome VIP's First Amendment right to humorous expression, Jack Daniel's was required to show that VIP's use of its trademarks is either (1) not artistically relevant to the underlying work, or (2) explicitly misleads consumers as to the source or content of the work. The trial court did not apply the Rogers test as part of its analysis...

The 9th Circuit's application of the Rogers test — which has traditionally been used for expressive works like movies, music, and books — to the commercial setting has garnered the attention of attorneys and brand owners alike. The outcome of this case has far-reaching implications for gag gifts, novelty T-shirts, and even subtler fashion products."

Column: How Trump tried to trademark and profit off the phrase ‘Rigged Election!’; Los Angeles Times, February 2, 2023

NICHOLAS GOLDBERG, Los Angeles Times; Column: How Trump tried to trademark and profit off the phrase ‘Rigged Election!’

"Lehrer released records, played the Cambridge coffee shop scene and San Francisco nightclubs and became world famous before mostly disappearing from public view and going back to being a math teacher, much of the time at UC Santa Cruz. About songwriting, he told the Washington Post: “My head just isn’t there anymore.”

But his songs remained popular and he presumably continued to make money from them.

Then, late in life, he decided he was done profiting from his work. A couple of years ago he announced that he intended to put all his music into the public domain. In late November, he posted another note on his website saying that “all copyrights to lyrics or music written or composed by me have been permanently and irrevocably relinquished.” 

“In short,” he wrote, “I no longer retain any rights to any of my songs. So help yourselves and don’t send me any money.”

OK, I’ll admit I found this moving, an example of a well-known person putting the public good over the private good, at some financial cost to himself. It’s true that Lehrer is in his 90s and, as far as I can tell, has no children, although surely he’s got heirs of one sort or another. Admittedly, this is not as big a deal as if we heard that the songs of Bob Dylan or Paul McCartney were suddenly free for public use (which they aren’t). But Lehrer’s gesture is generous and selfless nevertheless, because the public domain is, in the end, the public domain. 

People who want to use or perform or record or rearrange or tinker with his songs may now do so “without payment or fear of legal action,” Lehrer wrote."

Patents Expire But Trademarks Can Last Forever; Wolf Greenfield, January 2023

Jason Balich, Wolf Greenfield; Patents Expire But Trademarks Can Last Forever

"So, the next time you are looking to protect a good or service, don't just limit yourself to contemplating patent protection. These days, utility patents have a 20-year term from the filing date of the application and design patents have a 15-year term from date of grant. In contrast, trademarks can last forever."

Green trademarks and the risk of greenwashing; WIPO Magazine, December 2022

Kathryn Park , WIPO Magazine; Green trademarks and the risk of greenwashing

"Beware the green sheen – the perils of greenwashing

Guidelines promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission in the United States in the Green Guidesand by the European Union in its directive on Unfair Commercial Practices, offer clear guidance on what constitutes misleading information. Under both regimes, using vague terms such as “sustainable,” “green,” “eco,” and the like, are not acceptable if false or misleading. Additionally, claims need to be supported by clear factual evidence and qualified so as not to overstate their benefits. Moreover, the environmental benefit claim must pertain directly to the product as manufactured or used.

While regulators pursue companies that run afoul of consumer protection laws, claims are also pursued by non-governmental entities. Competitors may also sue, as will consumers who are misled, often as part of a consumer class action...

So what constitutes actionable greenwashing? An example is labeling something as compostable, such as a garbage bag that is destined for a landfill where it will not break down.  Claiming that something is recyclable when the infrastructure supports only a fraction of the recycling that would be required to remove the environmental harm ─ think plastic water and soda bottles ─ may also constitute greenwashing. There have been a number of lawsuits in the United States in the past year against Coca-Cola, Blue Triton Brands (which manufactures Poland Spring, Deer Park and other water brands), and others, for making broad sustainability claims despite the fact the vast majority of their bottles end up in landfills and are not recycled. These lawsuits have been filed by various environmental advocacy groups like the Sierra Club."

Cornish pub will not change name despite letter from Vogue owner; The Guardian, May 13, 2022

Geneva Abdul, The Guardian; Cornish pub will not change name despite letter from Vogue owner

"A new letter was sent to the owners on Friday afternoon in which a Condé Nast lawyer admitted it was a mix-up.

He said: “You are quite correct to note that further research by our team would have identified that we did not need to send such a letter on this occasion.”"

Protecting and Enforcing IP Rights in the Metaverse; The National Law Review, April 22, 2022

Anthony V. Lupo, James Williams, Dan Jason, ArentFox Schiff LLP, The National Law Review; Protecting and Enforcing IP Rights in the Metaverse

"Many brands have taken steps to proactively protect their intellectual property rights for use in connection with metaverse-related goods and services. This may include filing new trademark registrations or purchasing blockchain domains. But enforcing those rights poses a significant challenge. In this alert, we discuss ways to identify and combat trademark and copyright infringement in the metaverse.

What is The Metaverse?

The metaverse is a persistent, digital environment that will allow individuals to seamlessly transition between their physical and virtual worlds."

Trademark and copyright considerations for NFTs; Reuters, May 2, 2022

Sharon Urias, Reuters ; Trademark and copyright considerations for NFTs

"NFTs are mostly used to verify ownership of digital goods. An easy way to understand NFTs is to think of them as unalterable certificates of authenticity for digital goods. For example, if someone purchases a piece of digital art, the NFT acts to validate and verify ownership and authenticity of the artwork. In the "real world," the closest analogy is an autographed original painting that is authenticated by the artist's signature or a certificate of authenticity issued by a reputable source...

One common question asked by clients is whether, when they purchase NFTs, they also obtain the copyright associated with it. The answer is: Not necessarily. It is important to understand what is included in the smart contract that confers the purchaser's rights to the digital asset. Similar to the purchase of a physical painting in our analogy above, although the purchaser has acquired the right to display the work, and to resell it, ownership of the copyright is not automatically conveyed.

The artist owns the copyright unless the author assigns it to the purchaser...

NFTs present interesting and novel questions for trademarks as well...

One of the questions to be resolved is whether traditional trademark legal doctrines, such as the first-sale doctrine, protects a seller, such as StockX, or whether the NFTs are new, distinct products that seek to capitalize on the trademark owners' marks...

It is always challenging for the law to keep pace with the expansion and development of new technologies and innovations. It is no different with NFTs. With the increased growth of NFTs, the need for protection also grows. Although NFTs present many opportunities for businesses, it is essential that NFT sellers clearly delineate in the smart contract what is and is not permitted with respect to intellectual property rights. In that way, both NFT sellers and buyers will be able to protect themselves and best monetize these assets."

After 61 Years, McDonald's Just Revealed Some Big Plans That Nobody Could Have Predicted; Inc., April 2022

BILL MURPHY JR., Inc.; 

After 61 Years, McDonald's Just Revealed Some Big Plans That Nobody Could Have Predicted

A lot has changed since May 4, 1961.

"This is a story about McDonald's, trademarks, and the metaverse--plus, how to find good ideas for your business with almost no effort.

Let's start by explaining where to look: Go to the website for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Click through to the Trademark Electronic Search System.

Then, look up your competitors. Or else, search for companies that strike you as innovative and creative, or that are big enough to invest a lot into research and design and marketing.

You might be amazed at what you'll find."