Theft of intellectual property is a crime; St. Cloud Times, June 17, 2017

Karen Cyson, St. Cloud Times, sctimes.com; Theft of intellectual property is a crime

[Kip Currier: Wow...do we ever need more Intellectual Property education and awareness; lots of misconceptions and confusion out there. (Brief aside: See this story I posted a few days ago highlighting widespread confusion between copyrights and trademarks.)

This Op-Ed by Karen Cyson presents a wildly unbalanced understanding of the checks-and-balances codified within U.S. copyright law; regardless of whether one is or is not swayed by the facts of the alleged infringement. One of the biggest issues I have with this piece is that copyright law is often much more grey, more dependent on the specific facts of each particular case than Cyson makes it out to be:

No mention at all about whether the defense/doctrine of fair use might be applicable.

No acknowledgement of the increasing role of transformativeness within copyright law.

No insights into the downsides of copyright for the quilting community. No benchmarking comparisons made between the fashion industry (where there is no copyright protection for designs, at present, though various bills have been introduced over the past several years) and the quilting community.

And no distinctions between "attribution" and "infringement".

For an informative, more balanced look at the issues, read Tech Dirt's Glyn Moody (2012) post What Quilting's Legal Battles Can Teach Us About Copyright  ]

"We all know copying is wrong. If someone else wrote it, designed it, sang it, filmed it, drew it or photographed it, it's wrong to copy their work. It's illegal...

Theft of intellectual property — anyone's — is a crime. You can quote me. With attribution.

This is the opinion of Karen Cyson, a child-care provider in Stearns County and coordinator of Central MN Mensa. Her column is published the third Sunday of the month."

Russia Renewed Unused Trump Trademarks in 2016; New York Times, June 18, 2017

Mike McIntire, New York Times; Russia Renewed Unused Trump Trademarks in 2016

"Beyond the questions about Russian government approvals, the trademark renewals cast doubt on Mr. Trump’s oft-stated insistence that he has no business interests in Russia. Mr. Trump has made the claims in response to investigations of possible collusion between his associates and Russia during and after the election.

In January, he wrote on Twitter, “I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA — NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!” He told NBC News in May that he has “no investments in Russia, none whatsoever.” And on Thursday, he expressed frustration on Twitter over scrutiny of his “non-dealings” in Russia.

Although Mr. Trump has not managed to develop hotels in Russia despite attempts over the years, and has disclosed no active business ventures there, his intellectual property holdings are a valuable commercial interest. The extension of trademarks such as “Trump International Hotel and Tower” protects his brand in that country and preserves conditions for potential business deals."

Types of Intellectual Property Businesses Don’t Realize They Have; Inside Counsel, June 15, 2017

Amanda Ciccatelli, Inside Counsel; Types of Intellectual Property Businesses Don’t Realize They Have

"So, how can these smaller businesses know if they have valuable IP worth protecting? 

According to [Leonard] Marquez [from Wendel Rosen Black & Dean], most IP counsel can conduct what is often referred to as an IP audit. Counsel can work with management to review the company’s operations and spot issues where IP is being generated, but where the company may not have all the protocols and other measures in place that it should to protect that IP...

What can smaller businesses do to ensure their IP is protected?

According to Marquez, once there is a recognition of the need to protect the company’s IP, management should proactively reach out to IP counsel. Each type of IP implicates its own unique set of considerations as far as protecting that IP. 

He added, “Many trade secret misappropriation cases are won or lost on that issue alone. Each category of IP being generated and handled has to be considered and the appropriate measures taken to protect that IP.”"

First Intellectual Property Business Clinic June 22, 23, St. Maarten; Daily Herald, June 16, 2017

Daily Herald; First Intellectual Property Business Clinic June 22, 23, St. Maarten:

"Foundation INFOBIZZ, Bureau for Intellectual Property (BIP) St. Maarten and the Department of Economics, Transportation and Telecommunication (ETT) will host the first Intellectual Property Business Clinic in St. Maarten at the Holland House Beach Hotel on June 22 and 23, from 8:00am to 4:00pm.  The two-day clinic is supported by the European Commission through COSME. Founder of IP (Intellectual Property) Exchange Caribbean Kayanne Anderson, who is also an intellectual property specialist and lawyer, will facilitate the event.

Anderson has worked for several governments in the region assisting them in building national brands and how to best protect that. During the IP clinic, one of the key aspects that will be shared is how to best use intellectual property to scale and grow a business while building assets within the business."

Patent office has received 32 trademark requests for 'covfefe'; The Hill, June 15, 2017

Harper Neidig, The Hill; Patent office has received 32 trademark requests for 'covfefe'

"The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has received more than 30 trademark requests containing the word “covfefe,” a term President Trump included in a cryptic tweet last month.

  

The 32 trademark requests include two hashtag versions of the word, two companies seeking to claim the phrase “Covfefe Coffee” and 25 attempts to trademark the word alone."

Gene Simmons of Kiss tries to copyright 'devil horns' hand gesture; Associated Press via CTV News, June 15, 2017

Associated Press via CTV News; Gene Simmons of Kiss tries to copyright 'devil horns' hand gesture

[Kip Currier: Intellectual Property confusion--The headline should switch "copyright" (wrong!) with "trademark" (right!). 

Curiously, the article says that Simmons applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the correct place to apply for the kind of Intellectual Property for which Simmons is seeking protection), rather than the U.S. Copyright Office; the USPTO mention should have been an indicator that this is not a copyrightable work.

"Entertainment purposes" indicates the type of trademark class for which Simmons is seeking protection.

"Use in commerce" is also a requirement for federal trademark registration, not copyright registration.] 

"Gene Simmons of Kiss is trying to copyright the devil horns gesture.

The Hollywood Reporter reports Simmons has applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for protection of the gesture for entertainment purposes. He claims he first used it in commerce in 1974."

National Geographic Traveler Used My Photo for a Cover and Never Paid Me; PetaPixel, June 12, 2017

Mustafa Turgut, PetaPixel; National Geographic Traveler Used My Photo for a Cover and Never Paid Me

"After a couple of months of receiving no payment, I emailed them again asking them when they would be paying for the use of my photo on their cover.

They never responded to my email, and they have not responded to any contact attempt since then.

Frustrated, I began emailing the global National Geographic headquarters with my story. Although I have tried contacting headquarters over and over, I have yet to receive a single response.

I then began posting on National Geographic social media pages in 2013, but all of my posts were deleted shortly after I wrote them."