Seeing an opportunity to capitalize on comedic freedom of speech and parodistic liberties (think Weird Al Yankovic and Aqua’s Barbie Girl hit song), a pet toy maker decided to create a chewable, squeaky dog toy shaped like...more
10/19/2023
/ Dilution ,
First Amendment ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jack Daniels Properties Inc v VIP Products LLC ,
Lanham Act ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Parody ,
Rogers Test ,
SCOTUS ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks
In early 2023, a federal jury found an opportunistic meta-artist infringed on a luxury fashion house’s iconic handbag trademark. Digital artist Mason Rothschild created 100 unique “MetaBirkin” non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”)...more
2/23/2023
/ Artistic Works ,
Artists ,
Cybersquatting ,
Dilution ,
Domain Names ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
Tattoo artist Catherine Alexander (“Alexander”) filed a lawsuit against World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (“WWE”) and video game maker Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (“Take-Two”) claiming they violated her intellectual...more
2/3/2023
/ Artists ,
Athletes ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Defense Strategies ,
Fair Use ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IP License ,
Name and Likeness ,
NBA ,
Tattoos ,
Transformative Use ,
Video Games
In the cloud-based age where numerous tech giants such as Google, Amazon, and Apple have launched cloud music services, many kept abreast of ongoing legal battles over online service providers’ liability for users’ music...more
1/30/2023
/ Amazon ,
Apple ,
Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Digital Service Providers ,
DMCA ,
Google ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Music Streaming ,
Safe Harbors ,
Third-Party Liability
Louboutin v. YSL -
Christian Louboutin (“Louboutin”), the designer of the famous red bottom shoes, filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against fashion house Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) claiming YSL infringed on its red...more
1/25/2023
/ Christian Louboutin ,
Counterclaims ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Functionality ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Utilitarian Function
Federal trademark registration is the Holy Grail for companies, especially franchises, looking to expand their footprint and access a national audience. But even though trademark registration confers on owners certain...more