Decreased Filing Fees & Increased Efficiency Promises USPTO Decreased Filing Fees – In what should come as great news to attorneys and their clients, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has amended several regulations that will increase electronic processing of trademark applications while reducing application fees. To achieve this, the USPTO will offer...Read More

Grooveshark Loses Copyright Infringement Case to Record Label Giants Grooveshark Loses Copyright Infringement Case – Grooveshark became yet another file sharing website to face defeat against the recording industry for copyright infringement. It came shortly after Sirius XM Radio, Inc. lost to a 1960s band for its infringement of its music. (Read the full opinion here)...Read More

Sherlock Holmes Copyrights Sherlock Holmes Copyrights – The Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving Sherlock Holmes copyrights, leaving almost all of the late author’s work within the public domain, i.e. they no longer have copyright protection. The case involved the Estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who originally created the famed characters, and...Read More

Trademarking Food – Pizzeria Makes Case Pizzeria Makes its Case for Trademarking Food – A federal court in Texas ruled that flavors of a pizza chain’s food and its plating techniques lacked trademark and trade dress protection. The pizza chain, New York Pizzeria, Inc. (NYPI) alleged that Ryandir Syal, a restaurateur, along with other defendants,...Read More

What began as a trademark infringement case, developed into a battle of possible “genericide” when two popular moving and storage companies went head-to-head in federal court. Back in 2012, PODS sued U-Haul for trademark infringement for its use of “pods” under both state and federal laws. U-Haul countered that it was not infringement, because pods...Read More

Flo & Eddie Inc v. Sirius XM Radio Inc Flo & Eddie Inc v. Sirius XM Radio Inc – In a legal battle questioning copyright protection for the 1967 hit song, “Happy Together,” the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California held that sound recordings made before February 15, 1972, are granted exclusive...Read More

Warner Brothers Trademark Infringement Case – Keeps Clean Slate Warner Brothers Trademark Infringement Case – In a case stemming from the 2012 box office hit, The Dark Knight Rises, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit granted Warner Brothers’ motion to dismiss allegations of trademark infringement made against it for a fictional software program...Read More

Intellectual Property Law – No Dull Moments Intellectual Property Law – With Labor Day quickly approaching, and Back-to-Work and Back-to-School mentality haunting many of our minds, it’s a good time to reflect on what’s transpired in the IP world so far this year. From the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) revoking the Redskins’ registered...Read More

Protecting ‘Pig Sooie’ & Distinctive Sounds Through Trademark Earlier this summer, the University of Arkansas, home of the Razorbacks, secured trademark protection for its “Calling the Hogs” chant. Football and basketball fans may recognize the familiar “woo pig sooie!” cheer, which was granted trademark protection by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Registration Number...Read More

What Would Jesus Do – TTAB Decides Trademark Battle What Would Jesus Do – After a six-year legal battle, Tyler Perry has officially won the trademark rights to “What Would Jesus Do.” Kimberly Kearney, a reality TV star, originally registered the mark in 2007 intending to use it for a reality show of her own....Read More