When Does Intellectual Property Expire?; Lexology, January 3, 2022

[Post #4,000, since blog began in 2008]

GHB Intellect, Lexology; When Does Intellectual Property Expire?

"Intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights, is not a tangible thing. These assets do not all last forever, and in some cases, they need to be maintained in order to remain something that can be protected under IP. Understanding the terms of these assets is very important if you are going to protect an asset and be able to enforce that protection."

Difference between copyright and trademark; WYTV, October 15, 2021

 WYTV Staff; Difference between copyright and trademark

"LucasFilm trademarked the sound of human breathing through a scuba tank regulator better known as Darth Vader’s breathing, also the sound of the lightsaber, it’s actually microphone feedback.

In the TV show “Law and Order,” it’s the beginning three notes you hear the theme music. Composer Mike Post wrote that along with the show’s theme song. It’s not a sound effect, it’s actually a piece of music that gets a royalty for Post and Universal holds the trademark.

Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. protects what Burroughs wrote and it holds the trademark for his hero’s yell that Johnny Weissmuller made it famous.

Pillsbury owns the rights to the Pillsbury Doughboy giggle."

Intellectual-Property Assets Are Getting More Valuable; The Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2020

; Intellectual-Property Assets Are Getting More Valuable 

Covid-19 highlights importance of intellectual-property assets, particularly what happens with licensing contracts if a company goes out of business

"Intellectual-property assets such as brand names, customer data and trademarks are gaining value as the Covid-19 pandemic upends traditional models for retailers, restaurants and other struggling businesses."

The Difference Between Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents; The New York Times, April 16, 2020

Alexander Webb, The New York Times; The Difference Between Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents

Whether you’re an inventor, a writer or an artist, you need to know what these each mean — and which you need to protect your work.

"Intellectual property theft has always been a problem, but it has never affected as many people as it does today. If you’ve taken a photo, recorded a song or written a letter, you’ve likely created a copyright. If you operate a small business, you probably qualify for trademark protection, and if you invent something, you may be able to patent it. But the same tools that make it easy to distribute your work online make it easier than ever to steal.

Intellectual property, or I.P., is everywhere, but almost nobody who is not a lawyer understands how to protect their art, business or inventions. This article is no substitute for real legal advice, but it should give you an idea of what questions you need to ask next. I.P. law is vast, so this will focus on basic terms you’ve probably heard: copyrights, trademarks and patents. Let’s get started."

Managing Intellectual Property in a Crisis (Part 2); JDSupra, April 1, 2020

Joseph Falcon, III, JDSupra; Managing Intellectual Property in a Crisis (Part 2)


"(Note: This is the second of a three-part series stressing the importance of intellectual property protection in difficult economic times. You can read Part 1 here, and watch for Part 3 tomorrow.)

Maintaining intellectual property first requires identification of intellectual property your business already possesses. Intellectual property rights are classified into various categories, each protectable by different legal instruments such as patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret...

These items for patents, copyrights or trademarks are general, but each business likely will have specific questions on how they can apply to each business."

Business viewpoint: Prioritizing intellectual property protection in growing companies; Tulsa World, March 15, 2020

Terry L. Watt, Tulsa World; Business viewpoint: Prioritizing intellectual property protection in growing companies

"Growth-phase companies, including startups, are often cash limited and must make difficult decisions when prioritizing expenditures.

Money spent to obtain legal advice may be at the expense of other concerns such as product development and marketing.

Although consultation with an intellectual property attorney can be an important early step, it is often postponed in favor of more pressing needs. However, ignoring intellectual property matters can result in missteps that can have long-term negative consequences."

2020 Intellectual Property Primer: Cases to Watch this Year; Lexology, Janaury 27, 2020

Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease LLP - Michael J. Garvin, William H. Oldach III and Aaron M. Williams, Lexology; 2020 Intellectual Property Primer: Cases to Watch this Year

"2020 is likely to be a busy and influential year for intellectual property cases before the United States Supreme Court. The Court is expected to make a number of rulings and decisions that are likely to impact the future landscape of copyright, patent, and trademark law.

Copyright’s Fair Use Doctrine: In what is shaping up to be the main event of this year’s Supreme Court calendar—at least for intellectual property practitioners—the Court will hear oral argument in Google v. Oracle later this year. The case is the culmination of a decade’s worth of litigation involving two of world’s largest tech companies.

Oracle has accused Google of stealing copyrighted pieces of Java source code for use in Google’s Android smartphones. Google has argued that the Java software language Oracle accuses it of stealing is: (1) too functional to be protected by copyright law; and (2) is subject to copyright’s fair use doctrine.

The Supreme Court will consider both issues. The case is particularly noteworthy because the Court has never issued binding precedent related to the copyrightability of software and it has not issued a fair use decision in over twenty-five years."

Pitt Tells Student Groups Not to Use Pitt in Their Names; Inside Higher Ed, September 13, 2019

Elin Johnson, Inside Higher Ed; Pitt Tells Student Groups Not to Use Pitt in Their Names

"An emailed statement from communications manager Kevin Zwick read, "Many student organizations already comply with the 10-year-old guidelines, which allow the use of the Pitt and Panther names in ways that don't imply that the organizations are official university entities. Pitt's Office of Student Life and the Student Organization Resource Center continue to discuss concerns with our Student Government Board leadership to work toward a potential resolution."

Zwick maintained that the current guidelines for Pitt student clubs were as follows: "Independent student organizations are voluntary associations led by Pitt students, which are legally separate entities from the university. Because they are voluntary associations, independent student organizations may not use 'University of Pittsburgh,' 'Pitt' or any other University of Pittsburgh trademark/wordmark (i.e., Panther/Panthers) in their names other than to identify that the organization is located at Pitt (i.e., 'at Pitt' or 'at the University of Pittsburgh')."

Currently listed on the university's student organization page are dozens of club names that are in apparent violation of these guidelines."

Gift Guide For The Intellectual Property Geek; Above The Law, December 13, 2018

Krista L. Cox, Above The Law; Gift Guide For The Intellectual Property Geek

"Still looking for a holiday gift for the IP geek who loves all things copyright, patent, and trademark?Try one of these gift ideas below, some of which were the subject of litigation (including in other countries)."

Library now patent, trademark center; The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colorado), October 14, 2018

Amy Hamilton, The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colorado);

Library now patent, trademark center

"[Grand Junction, Colorado's] Mesa County Libraries' Central Library, 443 N. Sixth St., will have a grand opening of its designation as a U.S. Patent and Trademark Resource Center, a service that allows patrons access to information and databases on existing patents and trademarks.

The closest centers to Mesa County are in Durango, Salt Lake City and Denver."

Make a Name for Yourself: 4 Expert Tips for Choosing a Name and Trademark; Entrepreneur, August 2, 2018

Darpan Munjal, Entrepreneur; Make a Name for Yourself: 4 Expert Tips for Choosing a Name and Trademark 

"A recent Harvard Law Review study highlighted the upwards of 6.7 million U.S. trademark applications (registered 1985 to 2016) that had been made over the last three decades and suggested that we might soon be at the point of actually running out of trademark options...

Choosing an effective trademark means a trademark that's unique. With upwards of 6.7 million trademarks out there, and only 171,476 words in the English dictionary, you need to start thinking outside the box."

Lawyers for Velcro use music video to offer thanks for angry feedback on trademark plea; ABA Journal, June 12, 2018

Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal;

Lawyers for Velcro use music video to offer thanks for angry feedback on trademark plea

[Kip Currier: Interesting to see this "music video about a trademark plea" by VELCRO Brand Fasteners. During a guest lecture on Trademarks and Patents for undergraduate students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information earlier this week, I mentioned VELCRO as an example of a company trying to avoid the fate of becoming a "generic mark" through "genericide".

As Tom Kulik writes in a 7/2/18 article, "Losing Your Brand Identity: How To Commit Trademark Genericide Without Really Trying", for Above The Law, "acceptance that rises to the level of identification with the specific good or service (as opposed to the source of such goods or services) is the death knell for trademarks."  

Examples of generic marks include Aspirin, cellophane, escalator, trampoline, and zipper.

I first became aware of VELCRO's genericide-avoidance efforts when I spoke with a VELCRO Representative working at the company's booth for the 2016 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's National Trademark Expo in Washington, D.C. I was able to find in my 2016 National Trademark Expo Swag Bag the informational pamphlet VELCRO passed out at the Expo:

   
I was invited by the VELCRO Rep to take the VELCRO Hook and Loop Challenge...

Using 3 different types of VELCRO of varying strength...

VELCRO Samples, 2016 USPTO National Trademark Expo, (c) James "Kip" Currier

The back of the pamphlet and the VELCRO Rep explained the varied uses for which the different types of VELCRO are deployed...

I mentioned that I teach IP Law at Pitt and the VELCRO Rep nicely gave me 3 samples to take back to show.  

The white-and-green-striped VELCRO rolls (in the upper right section of the above photo of the 3 samples) are freebie samples that the VELCRO booth persons were also passing out to National Trademark Expo attendees.]

"Those aren’t lawyers on Velcro Companies’ new music video thanking the public for its angry feedback. They are actors playing lawyers.

But in-house lawyers were involved in the making of the video, Corporate Counsel reports. And they believe the company’s “Don’t Say Velcro” campaign has been successful, even if some people did have a negative, F-bomb-loaded reaction to its plea to save its trademark.

Velcro wants people to use VELCRO® Brand (as an adjective, as in “VELCRO® Brand fasteners) when referring to its product, and to use “hook and loop” when referring to scratchy, hairy fasteners made by other companies.

Velcro released an initial video last September in which actors playing lawyers explain in song that the Velcro patent has lapsed and the company will lose its trademark if the word is used to refer to all hook-and-loop fasteners. Some actual in-house lawyers also made appearances in the original video."

“We’re asking you not to say a name it took 50 plus years to build,” one character sings. “But if you keep calling these Velcro shoes, our trademark will get killed.”"

Ivanka Trump Wins China Trademarks, Then Her Father Vows to Save ZTE; The New York Times, May 28, 2018

Sui-Lee Wee, The New York Times; Ivanka Trump Wins China Trademarks, Then Her Father Vows to Save ZTE

"China this month awarded Ivanka Trump seven new trademarks across a broad collection of businesses, including books, housewares and cushions.

At around the same time, President Trump vowed to find a way to prevent a major Chinese telecommunications company from going bust, even though the company has a history of violating American limits on doing business with countries like Iran and North Korea.

Coincidence? Well, probably.

Still, the remarkable timing is raising familiar questions about the Trump family’s businesses and its patriarch’s status as commander in chief."

[Podcast] HOW TO PROTECT YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY | CAPE TALK RADIO; Cape Talk Radio, 2018

[Podcast] Cape Talk Radio; HOW TO PROTECT YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY | CAPE TALK RADIO

"How can creatives defend their work from intellectual property theft? Partner, Steven Yeates, talks to Cape Talk’s Mpho Molotlegi about patents, designs, copyright and trade marks – and provides practical examples for monetising your creative assets."

A Nexus of Fan Culture and IP: Steel City Con Cosplay Pics...AND the Real McCoy--err, Eden; Steel City Con, April 13-15, 2018

Kip Currier, "A Nexus of Fan Culture and IP:
Steel City Con Cosplay Pics...AND the Real McCoy Eden": 

Chewbacca and Frenemies
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

Jurassic Park ranger "Show & Tell"
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

Star Wars Families: They're Just Like Us!
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

3 Jawas and a Stormtrooper walk into a Bar...
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

Holy Sith!
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

R2D2 chillin' at Steel City Con
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

Black Sheep of the R2D2 Clan

Enter the Marvel Heroes...
Captain America: The First Avenger
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

Spider-Man striking a pose
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

Don't Mess with Cap and Ms. Marvel
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

(Hey, Phoenix....We Told You--No Avengers v. X-Men dustup right now...the Disney/Fox merger HASN'T been approved yet!)
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

And at the other side of the Thunderdome...Enter the DC heroes...
(Green) Arrow and Black Canary
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

The 1st Flash....Jay Garrick
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

Clark Kent and Zatanna
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

The Joker...sporting REALLY good hair product!
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

Shades of a DC Marvel meet cute?...
--"Joker, say Hello to Silk"
--"Silk...meet Joker"
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

"Fox and Friends" 2.0...
It's "Flash and Friends"
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

Newt Scamander...Have Wand Will Travel
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

A magnificent Maleficent
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

"Uh, guys...I'm here for the Game of Thrones Season 8 Extras Audition..."

James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

Freddy Krueger (...and Frozen's Elsa in the back left. Yikes!)
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

Michael Myers
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

Kylo Ren, Negan, and Lucille
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Moose
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

King Ezekiel (AKA "not your king", "not your majesty", "just some guy") sans Shiva...
"Excuse me...Has anyone seen a really stealthy Bengal Tiger around here?..."
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

Seeing double...2 Jeannies
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

AND the REAL Jeannie herself...Miss Barbara Eden
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

How to Protect Your Intellectual Property; Entreprenur, March 2, 2018

Jessica Abo, Entrepreneur; How to Protect Your Intellectual Property

"If you’re just starting your business, it’s important to protect your assets. Jessica Abosat down with Scott Sisun of Sisun Law to help you understand what marks you need and how to protect them."

Davehuman? Pirates had a hoot picking nicknames for alternate uniform; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 9, 2017

STEPHEN J. NESBITT, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Davehuman? Pirates had a hoot picking nicknames for alternate uniform

[Kip Currier: Trademark law is the issue with the names, rather than copyright law.]

"Chad Kuhl wanted “Kuhl Whip” but that, as was the case with many players’ first choices, was scotched by the league, presumably for corporate and copyright reasons. Kuhl went instead with “Chet,” the nickname given to him by fellow starter Trevor Williams. Williams wanted to be “Ved,” a nod to the Pearl Jam lead man, but was turned down and settled for the initials “EV.”"

Caution: misleading notices; U.S Patent and Trademark Office, July 2017

"Caution: misleading notices

Don't be fooled by potentially misleading offers and notices from private companies

Some trademark applicants and registrants have paid fees to private companies, mistakenly thinking they were paying fees required by the USPTO. We do not endorse any of these private companies and you are not required to use them.

Keep reading for information on potentially misleading offers and notices—also called solicitations—and how to identify them. You can also watch our "Solicitation Alert" video below. 

On this page:

• Trademark Information Network News Video: Solicitation Alert
• What is a trademark-related solicitation?
• What kinds of trademark-related services do private companies offer?
• How can I tell the difference between potentially misleading trademark offers and notices and legitimate USPTO emails and notices?
• Are the deadlines in these offers and notices accurate?
• I received a misleading trademark offer or notice. What should I do?
• Do you have any examples of potentially misleading offers or notices?"

Right to use HHGregg’s name and other intellectual property fetches just $400,000; Indianapolis Business Journal, July 7, 2017

Scott Olson, Indianapolis Business Journal; Right to use HHGregg’s name and other intellectual property fetches just $400,000

"Failed retailer HHGregg Inc., which racked up more than $2 billion in annual revenue prior to landing in bankruptcy this March, has sold its name and other intellectual property rights for a mere $400,000.

Court records show that at an auction late last month, an entity called Valor LLC scooped up the rights to the Indianapolis-based company’s trademarks, domain names, customer files and other data.

Buyers of a defunct retailers' intellectual property sometimes do so with the intention of resurrecting the brand, either as an online-only business or with brick-and-mortar locations. It's not clear what Valor's intentions are. Company principal Michael Eisner did not respond to phone calls or an email.

HHGregg’s intellectual property became available after the electronics and appliance retailer failed to find a buyer and closed all 220 its stores this spring."

Chocolate Aplenty, but Nary a Wonka Bar to Be Found; New York Times, July 3, 2017

Michael Paulson and David Gelles, New York Times; Chocolate Aplenty, but Nary a Wonka Bar to Be Found

"The Wonka brand passed from company to company in a wave of late-20th-century corporate mergers and acquisitions, and along the way came a real-world Wonka Bar, Peanut Butter Oompas, Everlasting Gobstoppers and other candies. In 1993 Nestlé, a Swiss conglomerate, acquired the Wonka name from a British candymaker, Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery, and, for a time, nurtured the Wonka brand, which eventually encompassed candies including SweeTarts, Nerds and Laffy Taffy, followed by Wonka Exceptionals. But the entire Wonka line has since been discontinued.

Nestlé has been hoping “to refocus the magic of Wonka toward future product offerings around the world,” according to Roz O’Hearn, a company spokeswoman. “We’re considering a variety of options, but for now, our innovation plans remain confidential, so I cannot share more info.”