Intellectual Property Law

Federal judge dismisses copyright suit over lyrics to Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’

A California federal judge dismissed a copyright lawsuit last week over a phrase in the chorus of Taylor Swift's 2014 song “Shake It Off.”

Feb 22, 2018 2:53 PM CST

Embedding tweets with photos can violate copyright, federal judge rules

Embedding a tweet with a photo in an online publication may violate the photographer’s copyright, a federal judge has ruled in a case concerning a tweeted photo of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Feb 20, 2018 1:42 PM CST

Judge rules in battle of law firms using same initials in their names

A law firm that used the P and M initials in its name didn’t infringe the trademark of another law firm that used the same initials, a Texas judge has ruled.

Feb 14, 2018 8:00 AM CST

A purr-fect ending for Grumpy Cat is a $710K win in court

Star of memes Grumpy Cat has a savvy owner who's leveraged the feline's sourpuss face to produce branded products, score a commercial spot and obtain a “spokescat” deal.

Jan 26, 2018 7:00 AM CST

ABA urges Federal Circuit not to include attorney fees in patent case ‘expenses’

The American Bar Association is urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit not to include the government’s attorney fees when awarding “all expenses of the proceedings” to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The ABA filed an amicus brief in NantKwest v. Joseph Matal, urging the full Federal Circuit to overturn a split decision of a three-judge panel.

Jan 24, 2018 7:30 AM CST

Rash of UPL lawsuits filed by LegalForce show its failure to compete, defendants say

Raj Abhyanker is up in arms against legal technology companies he believes are practicing law without a license.

With the growth of online services that assist people filing trademarks and patents, Abhyanker says he has seen his business suffer because “I can’t do what they’re doing, but they can do what I’m doing.”

Jan 9, 2018 8:30 AM CST

Nonlawyers at LegalZoom performed legal work on trademark applications, UPL suit alleges

A complaint filed Tuesday in the Northern District of California alleges LegalZoom has engaged in the “unauthorized practice of law, false advertising, unfair competition and other claims with respect to preparation and filing of trademark applications" before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Dec 20, 2017 3:05 PM CST

Barbie v. Bratz: What happened when toy titans took each other to court (podcast)

In this month’s Modern Law Library, we read a thrilling tale of dueling toymakers, corporate espionage and a group of brats taking on the queen of the Dreamhouse.

Professor Orly Lobel, author of You Don’t Own Me: How Mattel v. MGA Entertainment Exposed Barbie’s Dark Side, speaks to the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles about how an intellectual property dispute between the maker of Barbie and the creator of Bratz spun into a legal battle that would last more than a decade.

Dec 20, 2017 8:30 AM CST

Town crier delivers Bud Light’s cease-and-desist letter to craft brewer over its ‘Dilly Dilly’ beer

Bud Light delivered a cease and desist letter on Friday to a Minneapolis-based craft brewer using a man dressed as a town crier who declared in a theatrical tone that the phrase “Dilly Dilly” is the “motto of our realm.” Reading from a parchment scroll, the town crier asked the…

Dec 6, 2017 10:28 AM CST

Suit claims rival law firm copied billboard in effort to trick potential clients

A personal injury law firm in Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit that contends a rival law firm copied the look of its billboard to cause confusion among potential clients. The suit by the Ellis Law Offices claims the rival billboard, created by the Law Offices of Joseph J. Cariglia and…

Nov 28, 2017 8:00 AM CST

Law grad settles claims that Chobani co-opted his ‘how’ philosophy in a marketing campaign

A Harvard law grad who helps businesses create ethical cultures has settled state and federal lawsuits that claimed an advertising agency for Chobani yogurt co-opted his “how” philosophy with a “how matters” marketing campaign. Dov Seidman and his company, the LRN Corp., announced the settlement in October. Court documents indicate…

Nov 22, 2017 9:07 AM CST

Turtles members lose royalty battle in Florida

Florida law doesn’t protect performers seeking compensation for recordings made before 1972, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Oct 27, 2017 1:15 PM CDT

‘Please don’t make us call your mom,’ Netflix tells pop-up bar owners in cease-and-desist letter

A Netflix lawyer took a humorous approach when he sent a cease-and-desist letter to the owners of a pop-up bar in Chicago. “Please don’t make us call your mom,” says the cease-and-desist letter written by Bryce Coughlin, director and senior counsel for content and brand IP at Netflix. Publications covering…

Sep 20, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Photographer settles suit asserting monkey owned the copyright to his selfie

A photographer who claimed he owned the copyright to a selfie snapped by a monkey has settled a suit brought on the macaque’s behalf by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. David Slater agreed to donate 25 percent of future gross revenue from the photo to charities dedicated to…

Sep 13, 2017 12:16 PM CDT

‘Pepe the Frog’ creator wins copyright lawsuit against author of conservative children’s book

Cartoonist Matt Furie intended his Pepe the Frog character to be “blissfully stoned” and a “peaceful frog-dude.” But that was in 2005. Today, Pepe is widely known as a meme used by white supremacists, as Law.com, the Washington Post and Know Your Meme explain. Furie began raising public objections last…

Sep 1, 2017 3:15 PM CDT