Intellectual Property Law

Law Firm & Angry Ex-Associate Settle Suit Over Badmouth Blog

Whether you saw it as the “horrendous cyber-assault” claimed by Levinson Axelrod or simply an ex-associate’s legitimate expression of opinion, however unflattering, about the New Jersey law firm that formerly employed him, a badmouth blog that captured public attention with its angry audacity is no more. A confidential settlement last…

Jul 26, 2010 5:53 PM CDT

Hollywood Reporter Names its ‘100 Power Lawyers’

Looking for help turning that novel of yours into a movie? Think that new reality TV series sounds suspiciously like the idea you pitched to the network last year? Then you’re in luck. The Hollywood Reporter’s 2010 list of 100 Power Lawyers in Entertainment is out. The complete list includes…

Jul 23, 2010 7:04 PM CDT

9th Circuit Rules for Bratz Doll Maker MGA, Says It’s Entitled to ‘Sweat Equity’

A federal appeals court has vacated an injunction barring MGA Entertainment from selling Bratz dolls or using the name in a hard-fought infringement and contractual rights case brought by Mattel Inc., the company known for its Barbie dolls. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the remedy…

Jul 23, 2010 11:48 AM CDT

No Wedding: Kilpatrick & Townsend Firms Agree to Be Just Friends

Two well-known midsize law firms have called off their merger talks: Kilpatrick Stockton and Townsend and Townsend and Crew have decided a wedding just wouldn’t work although they remain friends. They attributed the aborted engagement to client conflicts. The 190-attorney Townsend intellectual property boutique, at least, remains open to the…

Jul 21, 2010 10:20 PM CDT

Naked Cowboy Sues Female Competitor, Says She Stole His Shtick

A New York man who has made a business out of playing a guitar in Times Square while seemingly wearing very little except a cowboy hat and his shoes has filed a federal lawsuit against a female competitor. Best known as the Naked Cowboy, Robert John Burck contends that comedian…

Jul 21, 2010 7:46 PM CDT

Is There Acapulco Gold in Pot Trademarks? Applications Are High

A decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to create a category for medical marijuana has fired up companies seeking protection for their product and business names. Soft drink makers want to trademark Canna Cola and Keef Cola, the Wall Street Journal reports. Companies seek to protect the names…

Jul 19, 2010 4:11 PM CDT

RIAA Reportedly Spent More than $17M in Legal Fees in 2008

The Recording Industry Association of America has long pursued aggressive litigation seeking damages for illegal downloading, but just how successful has it been? In monetary terms, the effort was a bust, according to the blogs Recording Industry vs The People and ITProPortal, relying on information unearthed by p2pnet.net. The blogs…

Jul 15, 2010 3:53 PM CDT

Does Bankruptcy Put a Gay Website’s Teen User Info Into Creditors’ Hands?

An effort by bankruptcy creditors to obtain the one valuable asset of a dying website—its database of information about 1 million subscribers and users—is raising privacy concerns both in the United States and abroad. Because the website is for XY Magazine, whose focus is on young men and teenage boys…

Jul 14, 2010 12:27 AM CDT

Record Labels Sue Porn Company, Want Their ‘Sexyback’

Several record labels claim in a lawsuit that an adult entertainment company is violating their copyrights by using their songs in porn videos. News writers are enjoying the spectacle. “Labels Try to Catch Porn Industry with Pants Down,” Reuters declares in its headline. “The struggling music industry may be aroused…

Jul 13, 2010 4:33 PM CDT

Judge Slashes ‘Excessive’ $675K Award in Music Download Case to $67.5K

A Harvard Law School professor representing a graduate student in a high-profile music downloading case has finally won a significant victory. On Friday a federal judge slashed the $675,000 awarded last year by a Boston jury against Charles Nesson’s client, Joel Tenenbaum, to $67,500, saying that it is “unconstitutionally excessive”…

Jul 12, 2010 5:26 PM CDT

Nonlawyer Bests Toyota’s Counsel in 9th Circuit Trademark Case

Lisa Tabari is not a lawyer. But she took on an auto giant’s corporate lawyers in a trademark dispute and won. A federal appeals court Thursday lifted an injunction barring Tabari and her husband, Farzad, from using the word Lexus in a family-owned business that specializes in connecting would-be Lexus…

Jul 9, 2010 5:00 PM CDT

Australian Band Ordered to Pay 5% of Royalties for Copying ‘Kookaburra’ in 1980s Hit

An Australian judge has ordered the band Men at Work to pay royalties to a music publisher for copying ”Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree” in a hit song from the 1980s. Larrikin Music had sought 60 percent of the royalties from the song “Down Under,” but was awarded…

Jul 6, 2010 11:38 AM CDT

The Value of Strategic Counsel

Regarding “We the Pauper,” May: It is not only private online providers that pose a problem. Even the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website makes it appear very easy to file your own application for a trademark. It is even posting a video that purports to assist filers by explaining…

Jul 1, 2010 10:10 AM CDT

Chew on This

Bellybusters battle it out

Jul 1, 2010 5:50 AM CDT

Gucci’s Perceptions About Inactive-Status GC Don’t Help Privilege Claim

Gucci America’s mistaken belief that its former top lawyer had an active license to practice law isn’t enough to shield documents from discovery based on attorney-client privilege, a magistrate judge has ruled. Magistrate Judge James Cott of New York City denied Gucci’s motion for a protective order Tuesday, the New…

Jun 30, 2010 12:09 PM CDT