Who has two ears, two gloves, and lives in the happiest place on earth? Mickey Mouse is one of the most recognizable figures on the planet, and his likeness is owned by Disney. He is a valuable creative and commercial symbol indeed. Since the passage of the Copyright...
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney
New Platform Should Make Copyright Ownership Transfers Faster
Copyright ownership transfers is not something that most people immediately think about where copyright is concerned. They want to know how they get copyright on something they have created. What kinds of protections they have. How to fight back if someone violates...
Did Better Call Saul Infringe Upon Liberty Tax Trademarks?
What does it mean to infringe upon a business's trademarks? Better Call Saul is an AMC series about how a down-on-his-luck lawyer goes from “ethically challenged” to downright, well, breaking bad, like Walter White in its titular sister series. In its six-year run,...
Bakery Gives Up the Mochi Muffin Trademark
In Berkeley, CA, Third Culture Bakery recently released its trademark on the baked good “mochi muffin.” The bakery’s legal representation had sent cease-and-desist letters to several other bakeries in the area that served mochi muffins. Public backlash via social...
Fraud in the World of Trademark Registrations
This past week, my law firm received documents from the “Patent & Trademark Bureau,” located in Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania, stating that our law firm’s trademarks were scheduled for renewal. The document listed the wrong renewal date and instructed that the...
The Copyright Struggle Over Lakota Written Language
Is there a space for communal ownership in U.S. copyright law? And what purpose would it serve? In May of this year, Standing Rock banned the Lakota Language Consortium (LLC), The Language Conservancy, and their founders, Wilhelm Meya and Jan Ullrich from the...
Postpone Your Vegas Elvis Wedding Until ABG Resolves Its Trademark Battle
Once you register a trademark for your business, how guarded should you be over its usage? The answer would seem like a no-brainer: “Always protect your mark!” But it really depends on the size of your business and how your mark draws its power. Authentic Brands Group...
The MetaBirkin Might Be Meta-Trademark Infringement Against Hermès
The couture bagmaker Hermès has sued self-proclaimed artist and entrepreneur Mason Rothschild for trademark infringement, dilution, and confusion. Rothschild has been selling NFT versions of the Birkin, Hermès’s signature bag, in the Metaverse – a territory that we...