Enforcing Trademark Rights during a Pandemic In an unlikely scenario, 3M has filed a lawsuit against a reseller of N95 surgical masks to enforce its trademark rights during a pandemic. The reseller, a medical supply company selling surgical masks to NY City for use during the pandemic, was price-gouging city officials. 3M brought suit against Read more about Trademark Rights during a Pandemic[…]
One of the first questions many inventors ask is: What Does a Patent Do, and Why Should I get a patent? What Does a Patent Do? A patent is a grant from the government which provides the receiver of a patent the exclusive right to their invention for a fixed period of time. In exchange, Read more about What Does a Patent Do ?[…]
There are typically only three ways to prove consumer confusion and Consumer Surveys are typically the most helpful.
On May 13th, the U.S. Supreme Court, agreed that consumers could participate in Apple Class Action lawsuits based on claims that Apple monopolized the after-market in its sales of iPhone Apps. Apple apparently charges App developers a 30% fee for selling apps through the Appstore. This increased fee caused a higher fee for sellers who Read more about Green Light on Apple Class Action Suits[…]
In today’s intellectual property law update, the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) announced that their electronic system will again be down for maintenance for the entire weekend. Strike 3 Holdings, a prolific adult movie producer, who filed almost 2,000 copyright infringement lawsuits last year, has seen more of its copyright lawsuits dismissed for Read more about Intellectual Property Law Update[…]
One of my favorite quotes goes something like this, “always be yourself, unless you can be Batman, then be Batman.” Well, when it comes to copyrighting weeds, I would rather be Batman. Copyright Lawsuit In a recent Copyright Case, an artist sued the Batman actor, Val Kilmer, for stealing his golden weeds. Specifically, tumbleweeds. The Read more about Who wins, Batman or Copyright?[…]
In today’s online world, photographers often promote their work on the internet, using website and social media pages to help generate publicity and interest in their photographs. Some of these websites show amazing photographs which demonstrate the talent of the photographer. However, because these websites are on the internet, potential customers simply copy the images Read more about Flickr Photo Not Fair Use Images[…]
As the owner of intellectual property (a patent, copyright or trademark), you have invested significant time, energy and resources into protecting your patent, copyright or trademark. What do you do if you find someone is violating your patent rights, for example? Do you file a lawsuit immediately? Do you contact the police? Do you contact Read more about Caution – Cease and Desist Letter[…]
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Copyright Registrations are required prior to filing a Copyright Infringement lawsuit in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-street.com, LLC, No. 17-571, 586 U.S. ___ (March 4, 2019). This settles the division between the circuits in which some courts allowed an infringement action Read more about Copyright Registration Required[…]
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[…]