At our law firm, we represent clients in a wide range of trademark matters, including international registrations and renewals, and worldwide protection of marks in commerce. A U.S. business or entrepreneur who is already exporting goods or who intends to export...
Year: 2018
Steve McQueen family sues Ferrari over using name on car
On July 31, the surviving family of iconic actor Steve McQueen filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles state court against luxury auto maker Ferrari for calling a limited-edition Ferrara "The McQueen" without permission. The car is brown, apparently in tribute to a brown...
State high court rejects de Havilland’s right-of-publicity case
The California Supreme Court has rejected a famous actor's appeal of a right-to-publicity case in which she claims the portrayal of her by another actress in a TV series cast her in an undesirable light. California's right-of-publicity statute broadly allows a...
VARA and the moral rights of graffiti artists
At our law firm, we represent artists and parties doing business with them in agreements and lawsuits about artists' "moral rights" to their creative works under the federal Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, known as VARA, as well as under the California Art...
Another twist on copyright interests in graffiti art
We recently talked here about the emerging copyright question of whether graffiti can be protected creative work. In our previous post, we described a case in which a federal judge in New York decided that a graffiti artist did not have an infringement claim. Because...
Impact of technology on trade-secret security
In recent posts, we have been discussing the nature of trade secrets, the importance of nondisclosure policies and agreements with employees and business partners, and the remedies provided under California law for trade-secret misappropriation. One of the reasons...
What does California law say about trade secret misappropriation?
Today we continue our discussion of trade secrets. Specifically, we will look more closely at what California statute says about trade secret misappropriation. California adopted its own version of the Uniform Trade Secret Act in 1984, with later amendments. Uniform...
How can a business owner or company protect trade secrets?
In our competitive markets, businesses often attribute actual or future commercial success to important information or processes unknown to competitors: trade secrets. California statute defines a trade secret as “information, including a formula, pattern,...
Children’s versions of literary novels were infringing
At our law firm, we represent authors, agents and publishers in a variety of copyright matters, including drafting, reviewing and negotiating agreements involving licensing, publishing, representation, marketing, works for hire and more. In addition, we vigorously...
Dow sues Turkish company over opaque-paint trade secrets
At our law firm, we advocate for clients with ownership interests in trade secrets, meaning private information confidentially held that has economic or commercial value to the owner. Think, for example, of a manufacturing technique or chemical formula. We use a...