Bottom Line: The Supreme Court’s decision sets the bar higher for design patent holders to recover for infringement and opens the door to apportionment of damages. Parties looking to file for design patents will likely consider claiming their patents more broadly, in order to avoid the specter of reduced damages in the event the design … 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 6, the Supreme Court reversed Apple’s $399 million patent infringement verdict against Samsung. The decision – the first from the Supreme Court to interpret design patent damages since 1886 – arguably raises more questions than it answers. In a series of widely-publicized cases around the globe, Apple and Samsung have been battling over … Continue Reading
Among the last few lines of Led Zeppelin’s rock ballad Stairway to Heaven are the lyrics “And if you listen very hard/The tune will come to you at last./When all are one and one is all…” Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe brought suit against Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement, apparently thinking that one did not even … Continue Reading
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Partnership (“MLSE”), the parent company of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs, has requested an extension of time to oppose a U.S. trade-mark application filed by one Calvin Broadus – better known as Snoop Dogg (“Snoop”) – for a logo featuring the words LEAFS BY SNOOP on a leaf-shaped … Continue Reading
Many states recognize a “right of publicity,” which prohibits the commercial use of an individual’s name, likeness, or identity without consent. When aspects of a well-known person’s identity are incorporated into an expressive work, however, what emerges is a tension between the individual’s right of publicity and the artist’s freedom of expression as protected by … Continue Reading
During the life of a franchise system, franchisees are often the source of new product and service offering ideas. Franchisors often find that some of the best-selling products are created by franchisees. For example, some of the most popular sandwiches (including the Big Mac, Filet-o-Fish, and Egg McMuffin) at McDonald’s were created by franchisees. Indeed, … Continue Reading
The recent Federal Court of Australia decision in Skyy Spririts LLC v Lodestar Anstalt [2015] FCA 509 serves as a reminder that Australian registered trade marks are vulnerable to removal on the basis of non-use if licensing and structuring arrangements are not adequate. Under the Australian Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) a trade mark may, … Continue Reading
A recent decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (M.Z. Berger & Co, Inc., v. Swatch AG [2015] Fed. Cir.) has clarified the standards applicable to determining whether an applicant relying on an “intent-to-use” basis had the required “bona fide intention” to use the mark in commerce when the application … Continue Reading
Do you remember the song “September” ? Do you also remember the band behind the song? Yes… it is the famous US band EARTH WIND & FIRE. Why I am asking this? Thanks to the IP team of the Austrian law firm Brauneis Klauser Prändl (bkp) led by Martin Reinisch, this band just achieved a … Continue Reading
