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How AI Complicates Trademark Protection In the Digital Age
It’s rare that a day goes by without news of the impact artificial intelligence (AI) is having on our lives, for better or worse. While AI has many proven beneficial applications, outside my expertise, there is a concerning trend emerging in my field. As someone who has built my career creating and protecting brand equity, I’ve witnessed an increasing number of disputes that are based on mimicry of distinctive brand identities without permission. Traditional trademark protection cases now share courtrooms with proceedings based in the digital realm, dramatically changing both the playing field and the rules in brand infringement cases. As a branding professional who has seen my share of industry evolution over the years, it is something that I have been asked to weigh in on with more and more frequency.
To understand AI’s influence on brand infringement, one must go back to what I refer to as Branding 101. Historically, brands earned status by making or doing something that was relevantly different and more effective than the competition. It might be a formula to make clothes cleaner, teeth whiter, insurance cheaper, cars more fuel efficient, or to relieve headaches faster. When litigation arose, supporting rational claims was relatively straightforward, typically involving one brand infringing on another’s product, R&D practices, or marketing tactics.
Today, building brands solely on the promise of a different product or service has become unsustainable. Any “new and improved” feature or benefit is quickly eclipsed by competitors. Consequently, many companies now create brand stories not on “what” or “how,” but on “who,” — their brand identity. Brands signal category superiority not through rational claims, but by reinforcing a distinct persona. This isn’t merely a name or a logo, but an authentic way of being — a “ness” comprised of distinguishing traits and behaviors that form an ownable brand essence difficult for competitors to replicate.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Anti-Assignment Override Provisions
UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?