Avoid Naked Licensing
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Mar 22, 2018 in Intellectual Property
New Immigration Reform Proposal Could Affect Every Part of Current Policy
Author: Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney
When business owners develop a wonderful product, often other people want to sell the product or use the trademark to develop other products. For example, a business develops a popular tasty rum and sells it under a registered trademark, YUMMY. Friends of the creator want to make rum cakes and rum sauces using the YUMMY mark. The two parties may end up negotiating a licensing agreement regarding the products and trademark. If the license agreement […]
Continue ReadingBroughan Taught an Intellectual Property 101 Course on March 13, 2018
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Mar 15, 2018 in Events
Attorney Crystal Broughan taught an Intellectual Property 101 Course at the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship on Tuesday, March 13, 2018. The institute is part of the Florida State University College of Business. The institute opened a Jacksonville office to provide executive level training to well-established small business owners. The goal of the class series is to help seasoned business owners think differently and more efficiently. Learn more about the Jim Moran Institute for Global […]
Continue ReadingCan You Trademark Disparaging and Scandalous Words?
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Mar 8, 2018 in Intellectual Property
Two major court cases in 2017 asked the question: can the government prohibit the registration of trademarks that may be considered defamatory or offensive? In 1905, The Trademark Act forbid the registration of scandalous and immoral trademarks. Then, in 1946, section 2(a) of the Lanham Act went further, prohibiting the federal registration of marks that were immoral, scandalous, or disparaging. But while these limitations may be the law, were they constitutional? Many believed that this […]
Continue ReadingCan I Use This Downloaded Image on My Blog Post?
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Mar 1, 2018 in Copyrights
Many people incorrectly assume that they have the right to use any image that they can find on the internet. For example, they may have done a quick Google image search to find a photo to accompany a blog post. However, those images are still covered by copyright. Even though you can easily download them from the internet, you must secure permission to lawfully use them. It is not enough to simply list the source […]
Continue ReadingGrumpy Cat Elated to Win $700k Lawsuit (But You Wouldn’t Know It)
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Feb 22, 2018 in Intellectual Property
You may know the internet celebrity Tardar Sauce by her more popular name, Grumpy Cat. She has been the subject of numerous memes. One of the most famous reads, “I had fun once. It was awful.” But you may not be aware that her owner, Tabatha Bundesen, formed the company Grumpy Cat Limited to capitalize on the cat’s permanently grumpy expression. Since then, Grumpy Cat has made numerous TV appearances, including Today, Good Morning America, […]
Continue ReadingBroughan Helps Coordinate Reception for Justice Stephen Breyer
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Feb 15, 2018 in Events
Marks Gray attorney Crystal T. Broughan attended the Chester Bedell Inns of Court/ABOTA cocktail reception for the Fireside chat with Justice Stephen Breyer on January 22, 2018 at University of North Florida. Here is a photo of the group of hardworking people who coordinated the reception.
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