Counterfeit Merchandise The sale of counterfeit goods is skyrocketing in the U.S. and around the world. Every day someone sells a knock-off product on eBay losing billions of dollars in potential sales from legitimate brand owners and also eroding their intellectual property rights. Globally, the economic impact of counterfeiting and piracy are projected to reach Read more about Buying or Selling Counterfeit Merchandise[…]
CARTOON CHARACTERS Cartoon characters are everywhere these days. In movies, video games, television, software, toys, blankets, food, beverages and clothing just to mention a few. Many of these are based on a fictional character which was originally created as part of a graphic work like a comic book. From a value perspective, these characters are Read more about Copyright Cartoon Images[…]
In 2018, the eSports market was valued at nearly 865 million dollars and some experts expect its value to exceed 1.79 billion dollars by 2022. The majority of this revenue is expected to come in the form of sponsorship and advertising dollars. Some will come in the form of betting, prize money, merchandise, and ticket Read more about Protecting eSports Copyright and Trademark[…]
Super Bowl Trademarks We were thankful to Kansas City Chiefs for making this year an exceptionally exciting football season as they made it to the AFC Championship Game this year. Now its time to turn our attention to the most watched football game of the year, the Super Bowl. As we get our party hats, Read more about Superb Owl or Super Bowl Trademarks[…]
On January 22, 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that a commercial sale of a chemotherapy drug to a third party who agreed to keep the invention confidential, was enough to trigger the On-Sale Bar and prevented the inventor from suing for patent infringement. The sale of the invention placed the invention “on sale” and because Read more about Recent Supreme Court On-Sale Bar Case[…]
Fortnite Sued for Dance Moves Recently, online video game makers have been selling avitar custom modifications including various tools or weapons, skins, clothing and emotes such as a dances or player movements. Many players use these emotes as a way to celebrae or to simply have fun while playing the game. However, some of these Read more about Fortnight Sued for Dance Moves – Lessons Learned[…]
Software Patents Protection and Enforcement of Software Patents is on the rise as a result of recent changes at the Patent Office and from the Courts. As a result, it may be a good time to protect your software with a Software Patent Application. Patents protect inventions if they fall into one of four general Read more about Software Patents (Revisited)[…]
Patents Protect Your Business Patents are usually considered as being the holy grail for inventors with sometimes strange or wacky ideas. However, Patents are more often used by businesses and can provide a savvy entrepreneur with significant growth opportunities. Many businesses can benefit from protecting their technology or innovation from competitors, including those in manufacturing Read more about How Patents Protect Your Business[…]
Copyrights and Work for Hire Doctrine Stan Lee, the co-creator and ambassador of the Marvel Universe, died this week. From a copyright perspective, Lee’s legacy is a complicated mess. Marvel, one of the original comic book publishers introduced over 8,000 characters including those created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Joe Simon and Steve Ditko. This Read more about Stan Lee’s Copyrights and Work for Hire[…]
Copyright in Buildings Generally, copyright protects all works of art including those which are related to a building design and to artwork fixed to buildings. However, because copyrights do not extend to functional works, buildings were not always considered Copyrightable. Currently, the law protects artwork for and on buildings under both traditional copyright law and Read more about Copyright in Buildings for Architects and Artists[…]