Drake prevails again – this time at the Second Circuit. On February 3, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Drake, finding that his use of a...more
2/11/2020
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Digital Sampling ,
Exclusive Licenses ,
Fair Use ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Musical Sound Recordings ,
Sound Recording Copyrights ,
Summary Judgment
Sometimes the truth hurts – but what is the truth here?
On October 23, Melissa Jefferson, professionally known as Lizzo, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court in Los Angeles seeking a declaratory judgment...more
Apogée or ApHogee: that is the question. Do those look or sound similar to you? Not to Louis Vuitton. But the Federal Circuit disagreed, and on July 5 ruled that the luxury brand could not register the word “Apogée” as a...more
7/15/2019
/ Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Louis Vuitton ,
Personal Care Products ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
Is traditional advertising dying in the Digital Era? Not only is offline marketing facing a slow death (goodbye, classifieds!), but companies are realizing that traditional online advertising may be losing its power....more
7/1/2019
/ Brand ,
Copyright ,
Deceptive Intent ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Influencers ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Endorsements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Right of Publicity ,
Social Media ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
USPTO ,
Websites
“There’s still time to change the road you’re on,” Led Zeppelin says, hoping a 2016 jury verdict in its favor will be reinstated. On June 10, an 11-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit announced that it would rehear a copyright...more
“I feel glorious, glorious,” Macklemore is saying. On Tuesday, April 23, a Louisiana federal judge in the Fifth Circuit dismissed a 2017 lawsuit claiming that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis unlawfully sampled Paul Batiste’s sound...more
Counterfeiting is one of the biggest threats to the fashion industry, deceiving unwary consumers and diluting brands’ values and hard-earned reputations. Counterfeiting costs brands over $450 billion in lost sales each year,...more
4/1/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Chain of Distribution ,
Counterfeit Goods Regulation ,
Counterfeiting ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Fashion Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Luxury Goods ,
Manufacturers ,
Retail Market ,
Retail Sales ,
Supply Chain ,
Women in the Law
The year didn’t start on a high note for Ed Sheeran. Back in 2016, Sheeran was sued by the heirs of “Let’s Get It On” (LGO) co-writer, Ed Townsend, who accused Sheeran of copying several elements of LGO in his 2014 hit,...more
The fate of Coachella Music Festival and Filmchella is in the jury’s hands. On September 10, 2018, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner, denied Coachella’s motion for partial summary judgment on its trademark claims against...more
In June, I reported on a copyright infringement case concerning Oscar-winning film, The Shape of Water. The suit was filed in February in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, on the same day that the Academy voters started...more
The Shape of Water, winner of four Oscars this year, is defending itself in a copyright infringement lawsuit which asserts the film copies a 1969 sci-fi play. The suit was filed on February 21, 2018, just one day after Oscar...more
HBO escaped a copyright lawsuit on Tuesday May 1, after a New York federal judge dismissed claims filed against the network by a graffiti artist. Last July, Itoffee R. Gayle, sued the television network for featuring his...more
5/11/2018
/ Cable Television Providers ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Fair Use ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
HBO ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Popular ,
Unfair Competition
Rapper Tyler, the Creator (“Tyler”), is facing a lawsuit for copyright infringement, which alleges he illegally sampled a 1971 soul song, “Why Can’t There Be Love,” in his 2015 hit, “Deathcamp.” ...more
4/3/2018
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Damages ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Digital Sampling ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Sound Recording Copyrights ,
Statutory Damages
The estate of Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, reigned supreme last week in the Southern District of New York after U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan dismissed a copyright suit...more
On January 17, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. (“Twentieth Century”) argued that a copyright infringement claim relating to the hit novel and film, Gone Girl, should be thrown out. ...more
Demi Lovato, Idina Menzel, and Disney are amongst the defendants who were sued over the hit song, “Let It Go,” featured in the popular 2013 Disney film, Frozen....more
11/30/2017
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Disney ,
Film Industry ,
Injunctions ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Movies ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Restitution
Can three stripes be protected as intellectual property? That question is now before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”). Adidas AG (“Adidas”), the German sportswear giant, instantly recognizable for its...more
10/30/2017
/ Adidas ,
Dilution ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Goods or Services ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
Louis Vuitton is no stranger to the court. For years, the luxury fashion label, headed by creative director, Nicolas Ghesquière, has battled high-profile cases over parody bags. Those cases have involved dog toys, Super Bowl...more
10/17/2017
/ Dilution ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Louis Vuitton ,
Parody ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
The accidental push of a “send” button has Google zealously fighting to protect its exclusive driverless car technology. On February 23, 2017, Google’s self-driving car unit, Waymo LLC (“Waymo”), filed a lawsuit in the...more