copyright
Should Musical Works be Entitled to 'Broad' or 'Thin' Copyright Protection?
A hotly disputed legal issue between the majority and dissent in the recent, highly publicized, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit “Blurred Lines” decision in Williams v. Gaye, No. 15-56880, concerned whether Marvin Gaye’s 1976 hit song “Got to Give it Up” was entitled to “broad” or “thin” copyright protection. The Ninth Circuit…
What is the ‘Right of Publicity”?
Most people have heard of well-known categories of intellectual property law such as trademark or copyright, but there is another type that you might not know, and all of us own one – the right of publicity. Don’t be misled by the word “publicity”; this right does not require you to be a celebrity pursued…
Homemade Inventions Deserve Patents, Too
In my many encounters with inventors around the country, I find that many believe that patents may only be issued for completely new inventions. However, U.S. patent law does not require that a new product or process to resemble something from a science fiction movie; a useful modification or improvement of an existing device or…
Maintaining Your Patent Right, Trademark Right and Copyright
Patent, trademark and copyright are all part of intellectual property right. However, the way to obtain and maintain these rights differs from each other. Because many clients have been confused by it, I think it would be helpful to provide a quick summary about their differences. Obtaining the Right To obtain a trademark right, the…
Can a trademark include a mark that's already registered within it?
It depends on how the registered mark is used and how arbitrary or fanciful is the registered mark. In short, if no one will confuse your mark with the registered mark, then you likely will be fine. For example, “Target” is registered by Target Brands, Inc. in association with various retail department store services. However,…
Duty to Disclose Information Material to Patentability
Under U.S. Patent Law, and very much to Patent Law in other countries as well, Patent Applicants have the duty to disclose all information that is material to the patentability of their Patent Applications. This mandatory disclosure is generally done by submitting Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) form to the Patent Office. Most of the time,…
Importance of “Boilerplate” Terms in Contracts
The term “boilerplate” in contracts is often used to refer to miscellaneous terms and provisions, which don’t concern the main terms and conditions of the agreement. For that reason, boilerplate provisions are often ignored or given short shrift by parties to contracts. This is a mistake because boilerplate terms can be critical to resolution of…
Trademark Infringement VS. Copyright Infringement
Some clients are confused about when should they enforce their Intellectual Property (IP) right under Trademark and when should they do so under Copyright. In short, while there may be some overlap between the two IP rights, the primary purpose for Trademark is to protect brand names and logos used on goods and services, and…