Article

‘Fyre’ Danger! 7 Ways Influencers, Brands and Agencies Can Avoid Getting Burned for Not Disclosing Endorsements, Entrepreneur (April 10, 2019)

In an article published by Entrepreneur, Paul I. Menes, Co-Head of the Entertainment and Media Practice at Adli Law Group, and known as The Influencer Lawyer ™, discusses the fallout from the Fyre Festival fiasco. He explores the implications and consequences for Festival promoter Billy McFarland and his associates, the influencers who promoted and endorsed…

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Register Your Copyright Before You Register Your (Infringement) Complaint

There have been several high-profile copyright infringement lawsuits filed in the last few years. Two high profile ones were Marvin Gaye’s estate sued Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, for allegedly appropriating some of Gaye’s famous song “Got to Give It Up”, into their big hit, “Blurred Lines”. Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson were sued twice,…

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Will Dealing with Cannabis Leave You Bankrupt?

If your business deals with cannabis, you no doubt are hoping the answer is no. However, as the saying goes, “be careful what you wish for.” Changes in Cannabis Laws A recent decision by the federal bankruptcy court in Colorado has implications for cannabis businesses across the country, including businesses peripheral to the cultivation, manufacture,…

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Influencers Need to Be Under the Influence – of the Laws Governing Endorsement Disclosures

Being a social media Influencer can be very lucrative. Brands are more willing than ever to pay popular Influencers lots of money to tap into their millions of followers, to promote their products to what has proven to be willing consumers. The Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) is paying attention. They’ve consequently ramped up enforcement…

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Rosen: A Case Study on a School’s Duty to Protect, Daily Journal (January 7, 2019)

Alyssa Dillard’s article “Rose: A case study on a school’s duty to protect its students,” published in the Daily Journal, discusses the recent California Supreme Court case involving a violent act on the UCLA campus, which resulted in a new standard regarding a university’s duty to protect its students from a foreseeable threat of violence…

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Got Rights? A Jenner or Kardashian Will Probably Infringe Them

I really thought I wouldn’t be writing about this again. I thought that Kylie Jenner and her sisters would hire and listen to knowledgeable and competent trademark and copyright attorneys for their future business endeavors, after: Kylie Jenner infringed several of multi-platinum singer Kylie Minogue’s trademarks; and, then she and her sister, Kendal Jenner, infringed…

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Balenciaga vs Little Trees: When Anti-Fashion Leans Toward Anti-Legal, Daily Journal (November 6, 2018)

In an article for the Daily Journal, ADLI’s Olfa B’Chir discusses the appropriation of functional trademarks by high-end fashion brands attempting to compete with a movement in Fashion known as “AntiFashion”.  She explores the case example of Balenciaga appropriating the Little Tree design and their protected trademark to create a Balenciaga keychain that sells for approximatively…

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Your Trademark Can Become Useless If You Can’t Prove Use

A U.S. trademark registration must be maintained every five years, and renewed every ten, to keep it active and enforceable.  A component of this is the trademark owner filing an affidavit with the Trademark Office, stating the trademark owner is still using the mark in connection with the goods and services in the registration.  The…

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Kylie and Kendall Jenner Don’t Know Wrong from Rights

Earlier this year, Kylie Jenner tried to register a U.S. trademark for “Kylie” as a brand for her celebrity and her branded goods.  For some reason, she or her legal counsel neglected to first find out if that name/brand was available for trademark registration in the trademark classes Kylie sought.  It wasn’t. As early as…

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Cannabis Coins: The Future of Cryptocurrency in a Red-Hot Field

The advent of cryptocurrency has given rise to the idea that we may one day have one universal currency. However wrong or right that might be, what is also clear is that the different types of alt-coins that exist today number in the thousands. Cryptocurrency has thus created a dichotomy of opinion when it comes…

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