Features

Exploring the Nebulous Boundaries of Trade Dress
Now that we are in the digital age, questions have been raised about the trade dress of websites and apps.
Columns & Departments
IP News
Penn State Files Trademark Lawsuit against Sports Beer Brewing Company Can OSU Trademark the Word "The"?
Features

Analysis of Warhol Art Fair Use Ruling
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that a series of silkscreen paintings and prints by Andy Warhol based on a photograph of music legend Prince taken by Lynn Goldsmith constituted a transformative fair use.
Features

Lawyers Win Contingency Fee Fight Against Estate of Blues Icon's Son
There have been disputes over rights to the two existing photographs of blues icon Robert Johnson as well as over who was his rightful heir. The latest court decision involves a contingency fee agreement originally entered into by a law firm hired by Johnson's son, who died in 2015. The case offers an example of what rights counsel may gain from such an arrangement following the death of the signatory client.
Features

9th Circuit Says End Steinbeck Copyright Fight
In a nearly half-century-long legal dispute over the rights to John Steinbeck's works, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's $5 million compensatory damages award against the author's daughter-in-law but vacated punitive damages against the heir.
Features

Book Publishers' Lawsuit Against Amazon's Audible
A coalition of publishers has sued Audible, the Amazon-owned audiobook company, over a new feature announced last summer that will display the text of a book to listeners while it's read to them by their device.
Features

Star Athlete's Trainer Loses Commission Bid
A lawsuit alleging a former trainer was entitled to a portion of tennis star Naomi Osaka's lifetime earnings is out of play, after a Broward County, FL, Circuit Court judge dismissed the case.
Columns & Departments
Bit Parts
Texas Court of Appeals Won't Let Former Lawyer for Matthew Knowles Use State's Anti-SLAPP Statute to Dismiss Knowles' Cross-Claims in Legal Fees Dispute
Features

Immigration Form I-9: A Form That Can Have Severe Consequences
This article addresses the history of Form I-9 and current initiatives underway by DHS.
Features

Crowdfunding, Reg D and Reg A
The New Routes for Access to Capital and the Potential Legal and Regulatory Risks Although the business community lauded the arrival of new crowdfunding laws, the enforcement community has had a different take on them. As stated in 2017 by then Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein: "The potential downside of crowdfunding is that it occurs outside the watchful eye of a regulated banking and financial industry. Unregulated websites therefore provide a platform for criminals to defraud potential investors."
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