The Bold Business of Bold City
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Sep 24, 2020 in Trademark
“Managing a business through a pandemic is not for sissies.” That is what Susan Miller with Bold City Brewery told me when I interviewed her for this article. Susan and her son, Brian Miller, started Bold City Brewery in 2008 during the recession. They survived that economic downturn and built a successful family business brewing beer and distributing it throughout Florida. Over time, they developed a strong brand and registered the trademarks for several of […]
Continue ReadingDid This Cat’s Purr Infringe on a Musician’s Copyright?
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Sep 17, 2020 in Copyrights
In 2015, the publisher of a purring cat video — Digihaven — got into a bit of a complicated situation with EMI Music and YouTube. Why? Because according to YouTube’s automated Content ID system, 12 seconds of Phantom the cat’s purring in the hour-long video infringed upon the copyright of a musical composition called “Focus.” Yes, you read that correctly. A cat was blamed for violating a music copyright. Because of how its purr happened […]
Continue ReadingU.S. Copyright Office Celebrates 150 Years
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Sep 10, 2020 in Copyrights
Happy Birthday to the U.S. Copyright Office! In 1870, all copyright functions were placed within the Library of Congress. Since that time, the U.S. Copyright Office has grown quite a bit in both size and function, and I thought a little history lesson might help in understanding how far we have come in the world of copyrights. Copyright History in the United States The authors of the U.S. Constitution included copyright protections in Article I, […]
Continue ReadingWhat You Need to Know about Getting Someone’s Trademark Canceled
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Sep 3, 2020 in Trademark
Is it possible to cancel a U.S. trademark registration owned by someone else? Yes. But there are rules and procedures that guide the process. Namely, you have to file a petition to cancel. Petitions to Cancel are filed with the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), an administrative body responsible for hearing and deciding different types of trademark disputes. Why would anyone want to cancel a trademark registration owned by another entity or individual? […]
Continue ReadingAnything and Everything Is U
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Aug 27, 2020 in Intellectual Property
Michael Moore is a future-thinking artist and designer who believes that art not only surrounds us and is a cornerstone of all cultures, but that it helps to improve our understanding of different peoples as well. Because of this, he thinks it should be part of everyone’s life, and has made it his goal to explicitly combine art with culture. He got his start providing computer-aided design (CAD) services to structural engineers and architects. Now, […]
Continue ReadingBest Practices for Photos on Your Website
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Aug 20, 2020 in Copyrights
Let’s say you start a business. Naturally, you decide you need a website to market your services or products. Maybe you choose to build the website yourself using a template. Or you hire a third party to create a customized website. In either scenario, you are going to want to use some images to enhance the visual appeal. So you search the internet for photos that you might want to use. Not so fast. You […]
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