Trademark Infringement Case Challenges Courts to Define How the Lanham Act Applies Abroad
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Apr 27, 2023 in Intellectual Property
Monthly Archives from April 2023
We have talked about the Lanham Act previously in regards to how it helps define the U.S. trademark registration system. A recent case involving a U.S. company and its European distributor brings up a specific question about the Lanham Act: does it apply to international infringement? Hetronic’s Case Our focal case involves Oklahoma-based company Hetronic, a maker of radio remote controls, and their European distributor, Abitron. If what Hetronic alleges is true, one could describe […]
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“Mass Copyright Infringement”: Internet Archive Faces Copyright Judgment
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Apr 20, 2023 in Copyrights
As we have discussed, a central theme of U.S. Copyright law is the stimulation of creative ideas, their free exchange, and commercial profitability from them. This is why copyright enforcement is not black-and-white/all-or-nothing – not all infringement is considered damaging. This question has come up regarding a recent ruling from a Southern NY District Court judge, whose opinion landed in favor of four major publishers against the Internet Archive for mass copyright infringement. The publishers sued […]
Continue ReadingAs the responsibilities of tech giants have soared in the past decade, two foundational Acts of the internet have come under political scrutiny: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Recently, the Supreme Court tackled cases that challenged each statute. You may be wondering: Do I need to be on the look out for CDA and DMCA updates any time soon? Short answer: No, not very soon. […]
Continue Reading“Whiskey” Business – A Parody Dog Toy’s Continued Legal Battle with Jack Daniel’s
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Apr 13, 2023 in Trademark
At the end of 2022, I wrote about the Jack Daniel’s parody toy case against Phoenix-based VIP Company. It has been ongoing for some time now, with both parties arguing their case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Well, just a few weeks back, there was an update on the case, and it is worth taking a closer look at what happened. The Dispute Behind the Trademark and Toy Parody For those unfamiliar […]
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U.S. Copyright Office Begins to Grapple with Questions of Authorship in AI Generated Works
Logan McEwen Apr 6, 2023 in Copyrights
On March 16, 2023, the U.S. Copyright Office published policy guidance on the registration of works containing materials generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The Copyright Office has been receiving copyright applications for AI technology, as author and co-author within the name of the work and in the acknowledgments. The guidance clarifies how copyright applications should address AI content (in hopes of more uniformity). The office repeats, reiterates, restates, and all but yells from the mountaintops: […]
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