Although U.S. common law trademark rights are gained through use of the mark in commerce (without registration), registration of a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) provides the owner with additional rights and benefits. These include nationwide enforcement of the mark against infringers; constructive notice of the registrant’s claim of ownership of … Continue Reading
On January 3, 2017, in Paramount Pictures Corp. v. Axanar Productions, Inc. et al., a United States District Court held that Axanar could not rely on a fair use defense during the upcoming trial over whether Axanar infringed Paramount’s copyright in the popular Star Trek television and motion picture franchise. Axanar has an existing twenty-one … Continue Reading
On December 13, 2016, the Russian Constitutional Court has published its Ruling on constitutionality of certain articles of Civil Code regulating the legal nature of compensation as an IP remedy. The constitutional review was requested by the Altai Arbitrazh Court. While considering numerous IP cases (Kvadro-Publishins v. Lubivaya, Aeroplan v. Vashkevich), the court found that … Continue Reading