-
28 Feb '14
If nothing else, the epic patent battle between Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. has brought increased attention to the value of design patents. According to the Intellectual Property Owner’s Association (IPO) recent report on worldwide patent trends, design patent grants and applications both continue to increase. In total, the IPO’s 2013 IP Record revealed […]
-
27 Feb '14Electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc. may be forced to delay its planned expansion into the Chinese market after running into difficulty securing its trademark. A Chinese businessman claims to have secured rights to the “Tesla” mark as early as 2006. According to Reuters, Zhan Baosheng owns the “Tesla” trademark in China, including both the English […]
-
26 Feb '14The artists behind the summer’s top hit, “Blurred Lines,” are fighting back against allegations that the song copies elements of earlier compositions by Marvin Gaye and Funkadelic. Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and Clifford Harris, Jr. (a/k/a T.I.) have filed a complaint for declaratory relief, which seeks a judicial determination that “Blurred Lines” doesn’t violate infringe […]
-
Brand owners may want to nominate the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for its own award. The organization, most famous for its Oscars awards ceremony, recently scored a significant trademark victory against the GoDaddy.com, Inc. over violations of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). The lawsuit involves GoDaddy’s “CashParking” program, which allows registrants […]
-
24 Feb '14Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently released the Global Innovation Index 2013. After falling out of the top five last year, the United States has reestablished itself among global leaders in innovation. The report, published since 2007, examines 142 economies around the world, using 84 indicators including the quality of […]
-
The New York Times recently won a significant patent victory in a case involving those text messages you receive on your cell phone with product updates and breaking news. A federal district judge in Chicago found that Helferich Patent Licensing LLC (HPL), the company that holds the patent for the technology, could not extract royalties […]
-
Many players in the National Football League, most notably San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, are well known for their ink. The tattoos are so much a part of their persona that they are featured in images and likenesses of the players, including television advertisements and football video games. As a result, the NFL Players […]
-
Navigating the numerous changes under the America Invents Act (AIA) can be challenging. One of the most significant changes — the adoption to a first to file system — requires companies to more carefully consider the timing of patent applications. To take full advantage of the new regime, companies should be prepared to file “early […]
-
18 Feb '14Microsoft has finally come up with a new name for its SkyDrive service. In a confusing move, Microsoft named their file sharing service to a similar service already in existence in Europe. Sky HD is a pay television service in Britain. Microsoft’s bid to trademark the name fell on deaf ears in Europe. So after […]
-
14 Feb '14Videos of virtual unknowns belting out Top-40 hits are some of the most popular content on YouTube. However, a recent copyright suit calls into question their legality. The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) alleges that Fullscreen, Inc., a multi-channel network (MCN) that produces some of YouTube’s most popular channels, has failed to obtain the proper […]
