Intellectual Property Law

Copyright case against Ed Sheeran based on ‘an extremely common chord progression,’ law prof says

Civil rights lawyer Benjamin L. Crump told jurors in Manhattan, New York City, in opening statements Tuesday that he has “a smoking gun” showing that singer Ed Sheeran copied the Marvin Gaye song “Let’s Get It On” when he wrote “Thinking Out Loud.”

Apr 26, 2023 9:15 AM CDT

Competency concerns lead to investigation of 95-year-old appeals judge

A 95-year-old judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is being investigated by the court’s judicial council after concerns were raised about her competency. The judge has refused to accept service of orders issued in the case.

Apr 17, 2023 9:51 AM CDT

Retired patent attorney who helped nab ‘Golden State Killer’ recounts her remarkable journey

In September 1998, a landscape worker clearing brush near I-85 in Mebane, North Carolina, came upon the skeletal remains of an unidentified child under a towering Howard Johnson’s sign. Despite law enforcement efforts, the youth remained nameless for two decades. He was simply known as “the Boy Under the Billboard.”

Apr 4, 2023 9:43 AM CDT

The CHIPS Act could complicate things for lawyers with clients in China or Taiwan

One potential side effect of the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act of 2022 includes amped-up patent litigation as the shift to manufacturing microchips domestically makes them further subject to U.S. intellectual property law.

Apr 1, 2023 3:00 AM CDT

When artists gain fame after death, questions can arise over copyright ownership

Several legal fights have pitted family members of an artist who died without a will against parties accused of commercially exploiting the artist’s work. Collectors or entrepreneurs who have obtained an artist’s physical work may then be tempted to try to profit from its underlying intellectual property, but they are different things.

Apr 1, 2023 1:30 AM CDT

‘King Charles clause’ limits new board overseeing Disney World, put in place after DeSantis’ feud

An agreement enacted by Disney World’s oversight board before its control was turned over to political appointees preserves power for Disney at the expense of the new board—and for quite a long time, thanks to a "King Charles clause."

Mar 31, 2023 3:33 PM CDT

Internet Archive’s scanning and lending of books violates copyrights, federal judge rules

A federal judge in Manhattan, New York City, has granted summary judgment to four publishers that sued the nonprofit Internet Archive for scanning copyrighted books and lending them out in digital form.

Mar 27, 2023 2:53 PM CDT

Supreme Court gets the scoop on doggy toy, whiskey parody case

Executives at Jack Daniel’s, whose whiskey was first sold under that name in 1875, have requested that VIP Products stop selling dog chew toys shaped like liquor bottles but with parody names and themes, leading to a major trademark case that the U.S. Supreme Court will take up March 22.

Mar 16, 2023 12:26 PM CDT

Wigdor blasts DLA Piper’s use of confidential arbitration in case of associate fired after seeking maternity leave

The Wigdor law firm is criticizing DLA Piper for using confidential, forced arbitration to decide the case of an associate fired after seeking maternity leave.

Mar 15, 2023 2:10 PM CDT

‘Gruyere’ is generic description of cheese that isn’t eligible for certification mark, appeals court says

The term “gruyere” is a generic description of cheese and can’t be registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a certification mark denoting the region where the cheese is produced, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Mar 9, 2023 8:59 AM CST

Weekly Briefs: Lawyer’s Super Bowl ad leads to litigation; 2 BigLaw firms end merger talks

NFL objects to firm’s Super Bowl ad, leading to suit The Dimopoulos Law Firm in Las Vegas is seeking a declaratory judgment that its Super Bowl commercial did not infringe trademarks of NFL Properties and the Las Vegas Raiders. The law firm sued after the NFL sent a cease-and-desist letter.…

Mar 3, 2023 2:27 PM CST

Breaking up is hard to do, Greenberg Traurig learns after finally succeeding in dropping rapper Ye

Greenberg Traurig has finally served notice on rapper Ye that it is dropping him as a client. The law firm was able to serve the rapper formerly known as Kanye West with the help of a California lawyer.

Feb 9, 2023 8:43 AM CST

Weekly Briefs: Legal jobs increase in January; 11th Circuit doesn’t rule out execution by firing squad

Legal industry adds 2,400 jobs The legal services sector added 2,400 jobs in January, according to preliminary and seasonally adjusted figures released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The legal industry had 1,183,900 jobs, a gain of 13,700 jobs since January 2022. But the January 2023 number is…

Feb 3, 2023 3:09 PM CST

Meet the lawyer representing Trump in his lawsuit against journalist Bob Woodward

The new lawyer representing former President Donald Trump in his lawsuit against journalist Bob Woodward initially practiced law as a barrister in Great Britain.

Feb 2, 2023 9:41 AM CST

Federal judge bans potentially inflammatory words, such as ‘yahoos’ and ‘fake news’

Lawyers in a case in the Eastern District of Texas can’t refer to jurors, the court or the jury pool as “yahoos” or by other similar, derogatory references, according to a motion granted by a federal judge last month.

Jan 30, 2023 3:03 PM CST