The Supreme Court of the United ruled in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, cleared up some contradictory rulings among the Circuit Courts. Generally speaking, something is copyrightable when the creator creates the original work and puts it in...
Intellectual Property Litigation
Safeguarding your startup’s intellectual property
It's no secret that the Bay Area is home to virtually thousands of startups, incubators and think tanks, producing a limitless number of cutting-edge ideas and technologies every day. While startups are consumed with vital tasks like obtaining investment and bringing...
Does my U.S registered trademark protect me in other countries?
A trademark is a sign or mark that helps the consumer to distinguish goods and services from different businesses. The trademarks are protected from infringement by intellectual property rights. Your U.S registered trademark only offers valuable protection against any...
Nondisclosure agreements in California
Most companies have valuable confidential information or trade secrets which they protect from being leaked to the public. In business transactions, companies receive and exchange private information with their customers or suppliers. To prevent unauthorized...
Designer asks court to sort out legal issues in copyright dispute
In a move that is getting lots of press, New York influencer and fashion blogger Danielle Bernstein’s company WeWoreWhat (WWW) filed a lawsuit on Oct. 16 for a declaratory judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Brooklyn...
If someone disputes ownership of your creative work, don’t wait to protect your rights
Copyright law protects the creations of “original works of authorship” like those in television, movies and theater productions. A high-profile copyright dispute between iconic comedian Jerry Seinfeld and long-time creative collaborator writer and director Christian...
Willfulness not needed to disgorge profits for infringing trademark
On April 23, the U.S. Supreme Court said that the federal Lanham Act does not require that a trademark infringer did so willfully as a precondition to the trademark owner getting back the profits the infringing party made in violation of the Act. At the time the...
ASCAP sues 19 bars and restaurants for copyright infringement
On Oct. 29, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, known as ASCAP, announced it had filed 19 lawsuits for copyright infringement lawsuits. According to its press release, the suits target bars and restaurants with music venues that allegedly failed...
Patagonia trademark suit against Anheuser-Busch not dismissed
On Sept. 3, a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California refused to dismiss five claims in an April trademark lawsuit brought by Patagonia, the retailer of environmental and outdoor fame, against giant brewer Anheuser-Busch over its beer...
Singer sues retailer over allegedly copycat social media posts
Pop star Ariana Grande has filed a federal lawsuit against retailer Forever 21 and an affiliate because of social media and website postings she alleges copied elements of her music videos of the chart-topping song “7 Rings” and of the song “Thank U, Next,” according...