Features
Stan Soocher
When artists take action over political-campaign settings, it's usually in the form of a cease-and-desist letter sent to a candidate's representatives. In some instances, artists file lawsuits, but to date there's been just a smattering of notable court decisions. This article provides a refresher on these rulings as well as a look at the recent lawsuit by the estate of Isaac Hayes over the Trump campaign's use of the classic soul song "Hold On, I'm Coming."
Features
Marc P. Misthal
Brand identity extends well beyond a brand name to encompass various elements. To truly protect your brand, consider what other features or designs can be registered as trademarks.
Features
Holley Horrell
The Eighth Circuit expanded its jurisprudence on copyright law twice in recent months. Addressing questions ranging from copyrightability to fair use, and arising from separate disputes involving a car dealership's customer intake form and a popular meme, these two opinions round out a body of just seven decisions on copyright law released by this appellate court in the past five years.
Features
Jimmy Hoover
A new appeal landed at the U.S. Supreme Court with potentially billions of dollars at stake for the music, movie and Internet industries. The question presented is whether internet service providers such as Cox Communications, AT&T and Comcast should be held liable for the copyright infringement committed by their users.
Columns & Departments
Matthew Weiss
Federal Circuit: Affirms Preliminary Injunction on Cancer Assays
Federal Circuit: Affirms Judgment of Unpatentability on the Pleadings for Claims Directed to Method of Assisting an Investigator in Conducting a Background Investigation
Features
Allen Adamson
Warren Buffett's wisdom rings true: "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently." In our current landscape of social media and viral content, a brand's reputation — its most valuable asset — can be severely damaged in mere seconds.
Features
Howard J. Shire
&
Justin Tilghman
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the Lanham Act's provision that prohibits the registration of trademarks consisting of or comprising the name of a particular living individual without the individual's written consent.
Features
Damon Whitaker, Jill Chalmers, Matt Minder
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Steve Trubac
Attorneys and companies alike are witnessing a paradigm shift occurring during the protection of intellectual property assets, encountering more sophisticated solicitations designed to appear as official correspondence from the USPTO, and outright scams utilizing information publicly available through the USPTO for pending trademark applications and existing registrations.
Features
James L. Ryerson
In an eagerly anticipated decision involving the proper standard for assessing when a claimed design is obvious, the Federal Circuit overruled the Rosen-Durling test that courts and the USPTO have been applying for nearly 30 years, calling the test "improperly rigid" and inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent.
Features
Catherine Nyarady
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Crystal Parker
The Act is intended to guard against patent trolling and creates a private cause of action for those targeted by bad faith infringement assertions and contemplates two types of relief: remedies and a bond requirement.
