Category Archives: Intellectual Property

Starting Your Startup: Selected Legal Considerations – Part Five (FINAL) of a Multi-Part Series

Posted on February 23, 2012 by admin

Protecting Intellectual Property and Miscellaneous Other Considerations Make sure EVERYONE (including all founders) is working under an employment agreement or a work-for-hire agreement that contains strong IP protection, often in the form of confidentiality and invention assignment provisions. This is … Continue reading →

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Artist’s Foundation Sues Nine Art Galleries in California for Unpaid Royalties

Posted on November 11, 2011 by admin

The foundation of the deceased abstract painter Sam Francis is serving as lead plaintiff in a class action filed in early November against nine art galleries in California.  The complaints, filed in Los Angeles and San Francisco Superior Courts, allege … Continue reading →

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International Trademark Law: The Paris Convention

Posted on October 25, 2011 by admin

One of the interesting quirks of U.S. trademark law is the manner in which priority rights are assigned to parties utilizing the same or similar marks.  In the United States, priority rights are given to the first party to use … Continue reading →

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Sole Proprietorship—does Christian Louboutin own the color red on shoe soles?

Posted on September 22, 2011 by admin

For those who practice trademark law, it is easy to concentrate on the lynchpin “confusingly similar” standard for trademark infringement and to lose sight of the some of the foundational principles of trademark law even before getting to the issue … Continue reading →

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Copyright Holder’s Rights Strengthened by Court’s Decision to Eliminate First-Sale Rights for Foreign-Made Works

Posted on September 9, 2011 by admin

The first-sale doctrine is a limitation on copyright that allows a lawful purchaser of a copyrighted work to transfer (i.e., sell, lend or give away) that particular copy of the work without the copyright holders permission.  This means that the … Continue reading →

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Protect Your Mark in the .xxx Domain

Posted on July 28, 2011 by admin

After much debate, ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has approved the use of .xxx as a domain, which will be used solely for adult entertainment websites. The .xxx domain will work in the same manner as … Continue reading →

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Rights of Publicity: Kim Kardashian Sues Old Navy for Using a Look-Alike Model

Posted on July 20, 2011 by admin

Kim Kardashian recently filed a lawsuit against Old Navy, the low-cost clothing store chain, for using a look-alike model in their commercial.  The reality star sued Old Navy and its parent company, the Gap, for deliberately infringing her public persona … Continue reading →

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Disney Abandons Its Trademark Application For “Seal Team 6”

Posted on June 1, 2011 by admin

The Walt Disney Company has decided to abandon its application to register the mark “Seal Team 6”, the name of the U.S. Navy counter-terrorism team responsible for killing Osama bin Laden, after filing the application the day after news of … Continue reading →

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Technology Licensing – Representations & Warranties

Posted on February 13, 2011 by admin

Virtually every technology licensing deal has some discussion as to whether the representations and warranties made by a licensor should be “qualified” or “unqualified.”  This issue is certainly one that generates strong opinions on both sides.  In particular, many of … Continue reading →

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Trademark – How to Differentiate Identical Marks?

Posted on February 1, 2011 by admin

Trademark attorneys often find themselves attempting to register marks that may be “confusingly similar” to other preexisting marks.  Although it is never fun to have a trademark application refused by the USPTO, do not fret as a USPTO Office Action … Continue reading →

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