At the beginning of this year, President Biden signed the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act into law. We already have laws protecting intellectual property assets, as well as measures to punish those who flout those laws: civil lawsuits, the U.S....
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney
Can You Copyright a Font? “Blooming Elegant” Designer Confronts Zazzle
If you have ever opened a wedding invitation from Zazzle, you have likely crossed paths with the Blooming Elegant font, a curly typeface in the “handwritten” family. Well, until recently. Its disappearance from the website last summer at the behest of its designer...
Smart Business Essentials: Trade Names vs. Trademarks
As we head into 2023, you may be feeling an entrepreneurial itch to start or expand your own business venture. Perhaps you are excitedly brainstorming names for your business and looking up the state and federal to-dos to become legitimate. In this vein, I would like...
WWE Gives Up RYBACK Trademark to Wrestler Who “Owns” Persona
If your employer registers a trademark for your stage name, how does that impact you and your future endeavors? And if you leave that employer, should they let that trademark go with you? In an unexpected example of this scenario, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc....
Three Broadcast Groups Deny Copyright Infringement in Unlicensed Radio Play
When you hear a song on the radio, what sorts of intellectual property law does that evoke? And if a radio station plays a song without obtaining the proper permission, what kind of trouble can that spell for the station? We are currently seeing this play out in a...
Smucker’s Claims Trademark Infringement of the Crustless Sandwich – But Gallant Tiger Bites Back
If you have been a reader of my blog for a while, you have learned that businesses can register a trademark for goods related to the distinctive shape of a product or packaging. And they can defend that registration by claiming trademark infringement if it seems...
New Year Tips for Business Owners
Happy New Year, and welcome to 2023! I consulted with Mitch Ghaneie, our patent attorney, and Logan McEwen, our trusty and brilliant associate Intellectual Property attorney, to put together our handiest list of intellectual property suggestions for business owners as...
Banksy Defends His Art Against Guess Copyright Infringement
If an artist’s message revolves around anti-commercialist values, is it hypocritical for them to employ copyright law to protect their own work? A swirl of questions like this surrounds a recent copyright infringement case involving Banksy and Guess. The mysterious,...