Last week, the Second Circuit issued a landmark decision clarifying the types of work protectable under the federal Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) in Cohen v. G&M Realty L.P. The decision confirms that graffiti art is a...more
For many, January 1 marks the beginning of a new year, which is often associated with looking forward. Ironically, some celebrate January 1 by looking backwards, in observance of Public Domain Day. Public Domain Day 2020...more
The January 2020 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses the following topics:
- The TTAB's affirmation to refuse a mark to distillery Jos. A. Magnus & Co.;
- Six trademark and copyright cases...more
The Switch by Nine. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified when a copyright owner can sue for infringement, settling the conflicting interpretations of the Copyright Act’s “registration” requirement, which we...more
4/5/2019
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Applications ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyright Registration ,
Damages ,
Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp v Wall-Street.com LLC ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
The Copyright Act
The March 2019 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter addresses a Supreme Court ruling about suing for copyright infringement, the 2018 Farm Bill and CBD products, and lists the new gTLD Sunrise Period.
In...more
4/3/2019
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyright Registration ,
Domain Names ,
Farm Bill ,
Federal Trademark Register ,
Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp v Wall-Street.com LLC ,
gTLD ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
SCOTUS ,
Sunrise Periods ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks
Last month American Airlines, Inc. successfully landed its turbulent pursuit to register its “Flight Symbol” logo with the Copyright Office, after the Copyright Office Review Board (CORB) electively revisited and reversed its...more
2/4/2019
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Administrative Reconsideration ,
American Airlines ,
Application Fees ,
Commercial Use ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Applications ,
Copyright Office ,
Copyright Office Review Board (CORB) ,
Copyright Registration ,
Corporate Branding ,
Graphic Designs ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Logos ,
Reversal ,
Takedown Notices ,
Trademark Registration
The January 2019 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses Pantone Color Institute's 2019 color of the year, pointers on protecting logos through copyright registration, Korea's notable amendments to...more
1/31/2019
/ Color Marks ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Registration ,
Corporate Branding ,
Domain Names ,
gTLD ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Korea ,
Logos ,
Sunrise Periods ,
Trademarks
Earlier this month, the Court of Justice of the European Union held that the taste of a food product cannot be classified as a work protectable by copyright.
This decision appears to be in line with U.S. Copyright law,...more
11/30/2018
/ Copyright ,
Corporate Branding ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Design Patent ,
EU ,
Food Marketing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Nonobvious ,
Novelty ,
Trade Dress ,
Trade Secrets
Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the test for determining when a three dimensional design for a “useful article” is copyrightable, resolving an issue that had divided the federal circuit courts for years....more
The July 2018 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses how to maintain rights in core trademarks as brands evolve, a reminder regarding importer and exporter liability for shipping counterfeit goods,...more
8/1/2018
/ Brand ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Counterfeiting ,
Domain Names ,
Exports ,
gTLD ,
Imports ,
SCOTUS ,
Sunrise Periods ,
Trademarks
The July 2018 issue of Sterne Kessler's The Goods on IP® discusses developments on copyright infringement lawsuit timing, prosecuting consumer product claims that include conjunctive limitations, and an update on membership...more
8/1/2018
/ Canada ,
Claim Construction ,
Consumer Product Companies ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Design Patent ,
Foreign Patent Applications ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
The Hague System ,
USPTO
As a counterpoint to our article last month regarding a copyright infringement and breach of contract lawsuit filed against Target over a computer font program, we provide a brief overview of the options for protecting the IP...more
When members of Team USA walked into the 2016 Olympic Opening Ceremony wearing uniforms embroidered with the letters "USA," the uniforms did more than just designate the team members' identity as representatives of the USA....more
The Wall Street Journal recently reported the spike in e-book sales of Alison Waines' two-year-old novel, Girl on a Train. The cause? Apparently, some customers thought they were purchasing The New York Times' best seller...more
With the growth of mobile apps, non-tech companies face the challenge of creating apps to promote and sell their services or goods. Because the creation of an app can be a one-time project, hiring an independent software...more
Continuing our primate theme for this month's newsletter, we thought this would be as good a time as any to remind our readers as to the important distinction between copyrighted artistic works, and use of elements from those...more
It has been two years since British nature photographer David Slater first asked Wikimedia Commons to remove several photos of a crested black macaque from its online collection of public domain images. Slater claimed to own...more
The August issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to MarketTM newsletter is all about monkey business, including an analysis of the copyright debate between British photographer David Slater and Wikimedia Commons over "selfies"...more