Features
Northern District of California Holds Vanity License Plates Are Not Government Speech
California DMV regulations excluding plaintiffs' personalized plates were like the PTO trademark registration restrictions of SLANTS and FUCT — restrictions struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court for violating the First Amendment.
Features
The Dark Side of Licensing: How to Prepare for the Audit
The audit clause itself is not something to be feared. It is a necessary means for the licensor to protect its interests and to guard against unscrupulous licensees. But it is a mistake to think that the clause is there solely to prevent malfeasance.
Features
From the PTO to the FDA: What to Consider When Branding Clinical Trials
The legal implications of branding generally arise initially for companies during the process of selecting a company name and any initial product or service names. For drug development companies, however, careful consideration should also be paid to the implications of branding a clinical trial.
Columns & Departments
IP News
PTAB to Follow Nautilus Standard of Definiteness
Features
Legal Issues and Monetization Strategies In a Quarantine-Streaming Music World, Part 2
Part Two of a two-part article While the livestreaming of music performances is not an entirely new phenomenon, the COVID crisis has transformed the live performance landscape, compelling artists from around the world to reach their fanbase by producing "quarantine streams," in which they livestream their sets on social media platforms. Unsurprisingly many questions have arisen.
Features
9th Cir. Finds No Fair Use In Dr. Seuss/Star Trek "Mashup"
In Dr. Seuss Enterprises L.P. v. ComicMix LLC, a unanimous three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit held in December that ComicMix's illustrated book combining elements of several Dr. Seuss children's books with characters, themes and other features of the popular sci-fi series Star Trek was not a fair use of the Seuss material from which it had admittedly been "slavishly" copied.
Features
Additional Perspective on Dr. Seuss/Star Trek Ruling
The court's decision means that in the Ninth Circuit commercial mash-ups will have to do more than place new characters in old settings to qualify for fair use.
Features
Lawyer Disbarred Over Mishandling of Investors' Funds for Film Project
The New Jersey Supreme Court disbarred lawyer Gary Mason after finding he knowingly misappropriated $690,000 that investors paid to support the work of a fledgling filmmaker.
Features
2d Circuit Blocks NY Litigation of 'Girl 6' Copyright Infringement Case
Fort Lauderdale copyright attorneys Matthew Nelles and Adriana Kostencki of Nelles Kostencki were in a Los Angeles airport in February 2019, when movie director, producer and actor Spike Lee called the day after winning an Oscar for his historical crime drama BlacKkKlansman. But the call wasn't about the win.
Columns & Departments
Bit Parts
Promotional Use of Supermodel's Appearance in Reality TV Show Didn't Violate Lanham Act Taylor Swift Shakes Off Fifth Copyright Infringement Lawsuit by Jesse Graham
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