It may be a no brainer for any Bostonian that the best beer in the country originates in Boston. Now Dunkin’ Donuts is laying claim to the best coffee. Last month, Dunkin’ Donuts filed a trademark application for the mark BEST COFFEE IN AMERICA. In an article that ran in the Boston Globe on October 4, 2012, several commentators expressed skepticism that this application would be successful, largely because the phrase is laudatory and not something that consumers would think was connected to a single source. Click here for the complete story.
Boston has the best beer, but does it have the best trademarks?
Written by TedGerdes on December 14th, 2012Apple Bought Rights To Use “Lightning” Trademark from Harley-Davidson
Written by TedGerdes on December 7th, 2012
Usually, when tech pundits talk about patents and trademarks, it is usually in the context of companies ducking it out in the courtrooms (just like Apple and Samsung are doing), but here’s a story that shows that companies can indeed play fair. Click here to read the Whole Story.
Pandora Demands Lower Fees!
Written by TedGerdes on November 23rd, 2012
Pandora, a leading digital radio service, is making a new play for lower licensing fees on music.
The company is still lobbying Congress to pass the Internet Radio Fairness Act, which would enable a panel of federal judges to set streaming royalty rates in the same procedure used for cable and satellite radio, but Pandora is also targeting the money paid out to song publishers. Click here for the full story!
What’s In a Name?
Written by TedGerdes on November 17th, 2012
Can you use someone’s name in your advertising or marketing campaign? A lawsuit over the use of Julia Child’s name by the maker of Thermador ovens will be transferred to California, where a related lawsuit is pending, a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled Thursday. The company’s advertising has included pictures of Child and referred to her use of Thermador products. Click here to read the full story.
Twitter Ups the Anti Copyright Ante!
Written by TedGerdes on November 9th, 2012
Twitter isn’t exempt from dealing with copyright notices and has made a big change when dealing with tweets that infringe. Before, when tweets were flagged as infringing copyright, they were completely removed. However, now this message will appear in its place: “This tweet from @username has been withheld in response to a report from the copyright holder.” Click here to read the whole story now.
Sony Sued Over Literary Quote!
Written by TedGerdes on November 2nd, 2012
Sony Pictures Classics and a group of unnamed movie exhibitors have been sued by the owners of the rights to the literary works of the late William Faulkner because a one sentence quote from one of his books was used by Woody Allen in the hit 2011 movie Midnight In Paris. The copyright infringement suit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Mississippi. Click here to read the whole story and the Literary Quote in Question!
Is your brand destined to be Hijacked?
Written by TedGerdes on October 26th, 2012
SPAM (photocredit: Wikipedia)
What if you had a trademark that had been around for decades, and had become so common that it popped up millions, and, in fact, possibly billions of times each day around the world? That would have to be about the coolest thing ever. Unless your trademark is SPAM. Then, maybe not so much. Click here for this great article in Forbes Magazine.
Internet Providers Cracking down on Piracy!
Written by TedGerdes on October 19th, 2012
The major internet service providers are rolling out a new system called Copyright Alerts — it sends warnings to consumers when they access pirated movies, TV shows and music — over the next two months.
The Center for Copyright Information, an organization set up last year by studios, record labels and cable and telecom companies, has been developing the system since it was announced in July 2011. The Internet providers will send notices from content providers — like studios, record labels and independent producers — alleging copyright infringement from peer-to-peer networks.
Click here to read the complete story
Do you own your material on Facebook?
Written by TedGerdes on October 12th, 2012
You post your pictures, build your profile, and create you online world on Facebook. You come back the next day and it is all gone without warning! Can it really be and can this really happen? The answer is yes and that is exactly what happened to “The Cool Hunter” when they saw their Facebook page and complete online presence removed swiftly and permanently with little warning. The social network shut down this pop-culture account and the founder and nearly 800,000 fans were left wondering just what went wrong. Click here to read this story about about the power of of copyright, terms of service agreements, and intellectual property ownership.
Law School Film Festival?
Written by TedGerdes on October 4th, 2012
The William S. Boyd School of Law hosted its second annual Public Interest Law Film Festival Thursday and Friday, aiming to increase public interest in the legal field by investigating what makes legal processes and penalties fair and legitimate.
Click here to read more about this Legal Film Festival!
