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Copyright Public Domain Trademarks

A Copyright is an exclusive legal right granted to the creator of an original work to license, copy, sell, distribute, or otherwise exploit the work for his or her own benefit.
Troutman Pepper Locke

Fair Is Fair? Navigating Product Integration and Clearance for Content Creators

Troutman Pepper Locke on

When you are in the business of creating content, it’s crucial to know when licenses or permissions are required to use the intellectual property of others (such as copyright and trademarks). In this article, we explore what...more

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

The Pitch - January 2025

The Pitch newsletter is a monthly update of legal issues and news affecting or related to the music, film and television, fine arts, media, professional athletics, eSports, and gaming industries. The Pitch features a diverse...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

New Year, New Public Domain Works: Copyright Public Domain Day 2025

Fox Rothschild LLP on

Every year, the world celebrates the first of January as Public Domain Day, marking the release of copyrighted works into the public domain. In 2024, we saw popular intellectual properties enter the public domain, including...more

Dickinson Wright

Free Mickey? (Don’t Be Goofy)

Dickinson Wright on

January 1, 2024, brought numerous hangovers along with an unprecedented amount of media attention to intellectual property law. That is because, as of the new year, one of the most famous cartoon characters in history –...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Disney's Icon Unleashed: Mickey Mouse & The Dual Dance of Copyright and Trademark Laws

Amundsen Davis LLC on

Copyrights protect creative works. Trademarks protect indicators of source. Can a creative work also act as a trademark? Yes, and the character of Mickey Mouse as portrayed in Disney’s animated classic Steamboat Willie is a...more

International Lawyers Network

Trademark Considerations for Copyrighted Works in the Public Domain

In the United States, an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression (meaning the work can be communicated in a visual or audio form) is a protectable copyright. This means that the owner has the...more

Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP

Mickey Mouse and the Public Domain: Is Use of Mickey Mouse Now Fair Game or Is that Just Fantasyland?

If you know me well, you know that I am an admitted Disney fanatic. So, you can imagine my initial horror when I heard media rumblings that Disney was losing its copyright to my favorite mouse, Mickey. Upon further...more

Vondran Legal

Mickey Mouse headed to the public domain but what can you do with it?

Vondran Legal on

Mickey Mouse is one of the most prolific cartoon characters of all time. Walt Disney incorporated in 1923 and first aired a video of Mickey Mouse (which I shall refer to as Mickey Mouse 1.0) in the short cartoon "Steamboat...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

U.S. Supreme Court Alert: If you copy an unpatented furniture design, does that help prove that the design was iconic and...

Womble Bond Dickinson on

Furniture manufacturer admits intentionally copying designs, asks Supreme Court, What does copying really say about trademark status of design? While offering a new design for sale without obtaining a patent often means...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Video Gaming / E-Gaming Law Update – February 2022

[co-author: Avanthi Cole] Main Quest - How To Tell ROM From Right - As we review some of the more prominent legal issues that impacted the video game industry this past year and consider what 2022 may have in store,...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

Out With The Old, In With The Gatsby Sequels: Trademark and Copyright News for the New Year

Most of us were thrilled to see the calendar turn to 2021 on January 1, closing the chapter on what was an extremely challenging year around the globe. Now that we are a month into the new year, and the fireworks have faded...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - January 2020

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

Carlton Fields

Getting Creative with Video Games: DMCA Takedowns and You

Carlton Fields on

Back to Basics: A Primer on Intellectual Property Rights in Video Games - In this series, we discuss some of the fundamental concepts of intellectual property law as they relate specifically to video game companies and...more

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP

Top Ten Urban Legends of Intellectual Property

1. Poor Man’s patent/copyright: mail yourself a copy of what you want protected and don’t open it.The sealed information can then be used to prove ownership of the intellectual property contained in it. While this may...more

Knobbe Martens

Curiouser and Curiouser: Copyrights and Trademark Rights are Not Perfect Reflections

Knobbe Martens on

Much like the world of Underland created in Lewis Carroll’s book Alice Through the Looking Glass, the blurring between copyright and trademark rights can create a topsy-turvy universe....more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

The Pleads Of The Many: 50 Years of Star Trek Lawsuits

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere of the original series of Star Trek, which first aired on NBC in September 1966. On July 22, this milestone will be marked in earnest when Paramount Pictures releases...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Trademark, Copyright &...

Copyright Strategies for Start-Up Companies

As a leader of a start-up company, you are probably aware of the importance of protecting your company’s innovative products, services and technologies through patent filings. If you are savvy, you are also aware of the...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

Why FLYING MONKEY WINE Never Got Off the Ground

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

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

Markit to Market - August 2014

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

Foley Hoag LLP - Trademark, Copyright &...

Wizard of Oz Celebrates 75th Anniversary & Victory in Copyright and Trademark Dispute Over Film Characters

This August will mark the 75th anniversary of the release of the classic film The Wizard of Oz. As Warner Bros. celebrates the iconic status acquired by the film and its characters during the past seven-plus decades, the...more

Greenberg Glusker LLP

Happy Birthday…You’re Being Sued!

Greenberg Glusker LLP on

Have you ever noticed how people rarely sing “Happy Birthday to You” in movies and television? Instead, people usually sing “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow,” even though no one actually sings that song in real life. ...more

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