We have recently been talking in this space about intellectual property licensing. A California Court of Appeal recently decided Olive v. General Nutrition Centers, Inc., an interesting licensing dispute in which the defendant admitted having engaged in activity that...
Intellectual Property Litigation
US high court rejects de Havilland’s right of publicity suit
Throughout 2018, we have followed in this space two-time Oscar-winning actor Olivia de Havilland's lawsuit against the creators of FX's docudrama series, Feud: Bette and Joan. On January 7, the U.S. Supreme Court refused without any comment to hear her case, in which...
De Havilland to ask highest court to hear right-of-publicity case
At our law firm, we represent people involved in disputes about the right of publicity. The right of publicity means that a person's name, photograph, or the like cannot be used for commercial purposes without that person's permission. California state...
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...
Part 2: Harley-Davidson wins $19.2 million in counterfeiting case
In Part 1 of this post, we talk about the recent federal case of H-D U.S.A., LLC v. SunFrog, LLC, out of Wisconsin. The judge found, among other things, that SunFrog had engaged in counterfeiting when it placed images and phrases trademarked by Harley-Davidson on...
How can I protect my idea?
Every better mousetrap starts with an idea. You can't patent the idea, however, only the device. Copyrights protect the expression of your idea, whether in artistic form or in written language or musical notation. And once you have advanced your idea to a product for...
Could the mark ‘Drive Wise’ collide with another ‘DriveWise’ mark?
Allstate first began using its registered trademark "DriveWise" in December 2010 and has used it continuously since then. Kia Motors Corporation filed its first trademark application in 2016 for the phrase "Drive Wise" as a stylized design mark.Allstate sued Kia for...
Trademark vs. copyright: What is the difference?
When it comes to protecting creative work, it's important for artists from all mediums to know what tools are at their disposal.Many people confuse copyright and trademark, and they both have their place in creative work. It's important to know the difference and...
What does dilution mean and how is it stopped?
Dilution can be a good thing and a bad thing. It all depends on the situation. For example, you wouldn't want to open a packet of powdered drink and chug it down. Rather, you want to dilute it with the appropriate amount of water. For an owner of a famous trademark,...
Is scope of publicity rights being put to the test in Ali case?
Even if you aren't a boxing fan, you likely know who is being talked about when the words, "I am the greatest" are heard. Heavyweight legend Muhammad Ali is the man identified with that phrase, even 40 years after he first uttered the words. Ali died last year.Ali...