Have you ever bought a secondhand luxury item on a website like Poshmark or The Real Real? These resale aggregators can create an attractive commercial staging ground for consumers who are looking to buy or sell higher-end clothing, bags, and jewelry. It is a thriving...
Intellectual Property
Judge Asserts Different “Overall Feel” in Roddy Rich Copyright Suit Win
Music copyright lawsuits are interesting beasts. When an artist obtains a copyright for a particular piece of music, that copyright is intended to protect the specific composition present in the song. However, this can also apply to individual aspects of the musical...
Are Brand Trademarks Necessary for Real Estate Agents?
This week, we will venture into a niche corner of intellectual property: real estate trademarks. Although the general perception of real estate agents may be that they are individuals acting in a solo commercial capacity, like a freelancer, the intellectual property...
Possible Rule Change: Should Authors of 2D Artwork Be Able to Register Pieces in Groups?
Creators of two-dimensional art tend not to register their work for copyright protection. According to surveys by the Coalition of Visual Artists and the Graphic Artists Guild, somewhere between 50-60 percent of artists haven’t registered any of their work. For a...
Make the Most of February 29th: IP Measures You Can Take in One Day
The most common frustration of business owners looking to get a handle on their intellectual property is that the process can feel overwhelming – to the point that they avoid it all together. On the opposite end of the spectrum, business owners who go through the...
Unanimous TTAB Decision Regarding SPLIT DECISION
If you register your band's service mark, could someone else who has worked with your band oppose that registration? It is possible, as we see in this week’s blog post about the mark for the band Split Decision – opposition does not equal success in winning a service...
Design Gaps, Inc. v Former Employee
Have you ever walked into someone’s home and realized that it was exactly the same layout as yours? That might come across as a funny coincidence to you, or you might attribute it to certain industry standards. Now, to raise the stakes: what if your business built...
Single Letter Trademarks: a Challenge of Distinctiveness
Though it is far from a new issue, the emergence of the company X (formerly known as Twitter) has refocused the spotlight on single letter trademarks. X Corp, Elon Musk’s company, was sued by X Social Media in December 2023 for trademark infringement based on consumer...