Intellectual Property Law

Look at This, ‘Annoying Law Firm’—Our Competing Billboard, Outside Your Office

Ordinarily, Traverse Legal doesn’t advertise locally, says the founding partner of the Michigan law firm. But Enrico Schaefer says he made an exception to this policy in order to get back at an unidentified Traverse City, Mich., competitor he refers to as “annoying law firm” in a post on his…

Apr 30, 2009 7:47 PM CDT

Web Advocacy Group & BluWiki Sue Apple Over Chat Board Shutdown Demand

In an effort to enforce its iTunes copyright, Apple Inc. threatened last year to sue BluWiki.com if the website didn’t remove from its discussion board a project called iPodhash. The project focused on how one might retrofit iPods and iPhones with open-source software allowing them to work without iTunes. BluWiki…

Apr 28, 2009 6:37 PM CDT

Can Avatars Make Contracts? Virtual Disputes Involve Real-World Issues

The virtual world of Second Life is the backdrop for the real-world development of virtual legal practices that consider cutting-edge legal issues. Are virtual items sold on Second Life protected by intellectual property law? Are contracts enforceable based on agreements by the players’ online alter egos, known as avatars? Those…

Apr 28, 2009 5:45 PM CDT

Intellectual Property Boutique Is Hot for New Recruits

The last time patent litigator Bert Ehrlich experienced a downturn in the economy, his law firm missed the boat. Not this time. Ehrlich, a partner at the intellectual property boutique Ladas & Parry, sees his firm as a beacon of hope to disgruntled BigLaw partners and associates. Business at Ladas…

Apr 28, 2009 5:31 PM CDT

All Eagles Star Wants to Do Is Sue Over Senate Candidate’s Alleged Song Misuse

A California lawmaker is now facing battles on two fronts, as he seeks the Republican nomination in an effort to unseat Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in 2010. Eagles founder Don Henley is suing Calif. Assemblyman Charles DeVore (R-Irvine) over his claimed infringement of “All She Wants to Do is Dance,”…

Apr 20, 2009 7:27 PM CDT

Brando Trust Sues Apartment Complex Over ‘Brando Loft’ Name

An apartment building in Los Angeles has been sued for trademark infringement for offering a “Brando Loft” for rent. The suit names the companies owning the Broadcast Center Apartments, the New York Times reports. The action claims the Brando name has been illegally used on a series of apartments going…

Apr 20, 2009 5:15 PM CDT

2 Pizza Workers, Via YouTube, Allegedly Put Brand at Risk, Now Face Charges

It was just a stupid prank, apparently, rather than a video of actual food preparation. But a clip obviously intended to provoke an “Oh, gross!” response reportedly did just that after it was posted on YouTube—viewed approximately a million times—and became the subject of extensive comments on Twitter. Now the…

Apr 18, 2009 12:59 AM CDT

‘Octomom’ Nadya Suleman Seeks Trademark of Tabloid Moniker

The controversial California woman who gave birth to octuplets earlier this year has decided to embrace the moniker with which she is often identified in supermarket tabloids and celebrity gossip magazines. Late last week, Nadya Suleman filed two applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office seeking rights to “Octomom,”…

Apr 15, 2009 9:49 PM CDT

EU Sues UK Over Phorm Tracking of Users’ Web-Surfing

Saying that use of controversial tracking software created by a British company apparently violated Internet users’ privacy rights, the European Union has sued the United Kingdom government for allegedly failing to do enough to protect its citizens. The EU is calling on the country to revise its laws to strengthen…

Apr 14, 2009 7:26 PM CDT

Blogger Gears Up for Legal Battle Over Goldman Sachs Critique

A major Wall Street investment bank has apparently retained a well-known New York City-based law firm in an effort to curtail a blogger’s critical posts. But blogger Mike Morgan says he isn’t intimidated by the cease-and-desist letter he recently received from Chadbourne & Parke concerning his blog, Facts about Goldman…

Apr 10, 2009 6:25 PM CDT

Harvard Prof Defends Controversial Tactics in Music Downloading Case

Harvard Law School professor Charles R. Nesson, infamous for his eccentric antics in the courtroom and the classroom, continues to draw criticism for his unconventional defense of a Boston University graduate student accused of illegally downloading music. In recent weeks, Nesson, whose client, Joel Tenenbaum, is accused of illegally downloading…

Apr 9, 2009 7:26 PM CDT

Guitar-Wielding Lawyer Rocks Fender

A New Jersey lawyer, who by day practices entertainment law and by night plays guitar and tours the country with one of his two rock bands, has helped win a key trademark case over Fender Musical Instruments. The case began when lawyer Ron Bienstock was doing due diligence for a…

Apr 9, 2009 4:13 PM CDT

Renowned Townsend IP Firm Lays Off 61

In today’s dismal economy, even relatively strong practice areas such as intellectual property aren’t as strong as they were. That was underlined today by news that Townsend and Townsend and Crew is letting go 16 lawyers and 45 staff. “As you know, Townsend expanded rapidly over the past few years…

Apr 9, 2009 12:51 AM CDT

Barnes Firm Raids Bryan Cave to Open Atlanta Office, Plans More Hiring

A more than 500-attorney Indianapolis-based law firm is opening its first office in the Southeast, raiding two partners from the Atlanta office of Bryan Cave Powell Goldstein to establish a foothold in the city. Although Barnes & Thornburg is opening its Atlanta outpost with Stuart Johnson and Jason Bernstein, it…

Apr 6, 2009 9:43 PM CDT

Attorney With LA Firm Fined $102K—Plus 200 Pro Bono Hours

NOTE: The sanctions described here against Deborah Klar, Teri Pham and the law firm Liner Grode Stein Yankelevitz Sunshine Regenstreif & Taylor were vacated, in effect, in April 2010 by U.S. District Judge Philip M. Pro. A federal magistrate judge in Nevada has not only fined an attorney formerly with…

Apr 6, 2009 9:09 PM CDT