Columns & Departments
Podcast: Crypto's Rocky IP Future
Listen in on a post-webinar chat on "The Crypto Landscape: Post-FTX," with Blockchain Legal LLP partner Aaron Krowne and counsel Ali Derie, along with veteran entertainment industry lawyer Eric S. Goldman, about cryptocurrency's rocky recent past (and present) as well as its still-promising, if uncertain, future.
Features

Impersonation on Social Media: The Increasing Challenges of Verification
The recent flurry of online impersonators, ranging from accounts posing as President Joe Biden to the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, exposes the challenges of social media platforms' verification and authentication processes.
Features

The Difference Between 'Covenant' and 'Condition Precedent' In Song Licensing Agreements
A question of law arose for a District Judge when a songwriter sued YouTube, claiming she never approved licensing her works to YouTube — whether the administration agreement's notice-and-consent clause was a condition precedent to the administrator's ability to license the songwriter's songs.
Features

Fair Use of Embedded Content on Social Media
The change in character of social media, from purely social communication to a mixture of the social and commercial, has had knock-on effects for courts applying traditional legal principles, notably, the application of copyright law.
Features

How the Changing Concept of 'Work' May Jeopardize Employers' IP Ownership
A key step to ensure that employers own their intellectual property is having employees sign agreements which assign to the employer all intellectual property created in the course of employment.
Columns & Departments
IP News
Patent Infringement and Trade Dress In the Ninth Circuit
Columns & Departments
Live Webinar: The Crypto Landscape Post-FTX
"The Crypto Landscape Post-FTX," Feb. 15 at 4 p.m. ET, NY Cyber CLE credits available.
Features

Is Trademark Protection Going to the Dogs?
The Ninth Circuit held in VIP Prods. LLC v. Jack Daniel's Properties that VIP's "Bad Spaniels" dog toy mimicking the appearance of a Jack Daniels whisky bottle was protected expression under the First Amendment. The Supreme Court granted cert in November 2022 to consider the principal question whether humorous use of another's mark on a commercial product should be assessed under Rogers or the traditional multipart test of likelihood of confusion.
Features

Are You Ready for Europe's New Patent System?
In Europe, the patent system is changing and will offer to companies a new patent protection and a new patent court. It should start in April 2023, with a sunrise period starting in January 2023.
Features

A Secondment Can Help Grow Your IP Practice
Although your company may have an in-house IP attorney, your company may still need temporary help from an outside law firm to develop your company's patent portfolio and to solve your company's need for temporary help with minimal need for training and financial investment. If you do not have the budget to hire an in-house IP attorney, the solution is to try a secondment — an attorney from an outside law firm temporarily joins your in-house legal team as a "secondee" on a part-time or full-time basis.
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand OwnersBlockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.Read More ›
- Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About ItWhy is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?Read More ›
- Ex Parte Trademark Appeals to District Court — Lessons Learned from the Front LinesAlthough pursuit of an appeal to the Federal Circuit may under some circumstances prove to be quicker and less expensive, appeals to district courts are becoming increasingly attractive given recent changes in the law and USPTO practice in defending these actions.Read More ›
- The Cold War Between NCAA And States Over Athletes' NILsOver the past four years, the NCAA aggressively lobbied Congress to pass a uniform NIL standard. Roughly a dozen bills have been sponsored by Democrats and Republicans alike, though none has ever advanced to a vote. Consequently, it appears increasingly likely that the courts will be called upon once again to intervene.Read More ›
- When Is a Promise Enough?: Contractual Duties and Insider TradingTwo criminal appeals before the Second Circuit require the Court of Appeals to decide whether the violation of a fiduciary relationship is required to create insider trading liability or if a breach of contract is sufficient.Read More ›