Thursday, March 31, 2011

Play Ball

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The Tidal Basin is afresh with white cherry blossoms and visitors from Vermont by the score. Daffodils are pushing through the vestiges of...
Wednesday, March 30, 2011

How Long Does A Copyright Last?

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I am periodically asked about the term of copyright. Such an apparently simple question comes with a complex answer. There is, indeed, no on...
Monday, March 28, 2011

Here's To You, Auggie Busch

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August Anheuser Busch, Jr. was born on this date in 1899 in St. Louis. During his tenure as chairman from 1946-1975 of the Anheuser-Busch Co...
Sunday, March 27, 2011

Cariou v. Prince: Infringement by Appropriation Art

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Photos were taken. Photos were appropriated into new art forms. Copyright infringement claims resulted. Patrick Cariou's photographs o...
Friday, March 25, 2011

Is the PTO Too Sensitive Regarding Scandalous Trademarks?

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The Lanham Act prohibits registration of scandalous marks. 15 USC § 1052(a). But I'm wondering whether the PTO is a bit too touchy and ...
Thursday, March 24, 2011

Confidential Shipping Data May Not Be Treated Confidentially At U.S. Ports of Entry

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Information that your business believes is confidential, including foreign product sources and distribution, is not necessarily treated conf...
Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Can't Sue -- Can't Settle

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Tomorrow morning, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument on an interesting copyright jurisdiction case that promises to cast a long shado...
Thursday, October 1, 2009

61 in 61

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On this date, the last day of baseball's 1961 regular season, Roger Maris blasted a home run over the right field fence at Yankee Stadiu...
Monday, September 28, 2009

Ten Mistakes In Seeking A U.S. Trademark Registration

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Today's post was prepared by my outstanding trademark paralegal, Mollie Roberts. If you recall the last time one of your trademark ap...

No. 9

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In 1941, on this date Ted Williams went 6 for 8 for the Red Sox in a season ending doubleheader, raising his season batting average to .405 ...
Friday, September 25, 2009

Random Thoughts

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Am I the only one wondering why Borders is selling the Sony Reader? Won't this device cannibalize the sale of Borders' books, partic...

Faulkner

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William Faulkner was born on this date in 1897 in Mississippi, one year and one day after F. Scott Fitzgerald. Faulkner was part of the grow...
Thursday, September 24, 2009

Copyright Termination

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Jack Kirby drew superhero cartoons for Marvel Comics. The recent article in the N.Y. Times , regarding the efforts by Kirby's heirs to t...

So we beat on

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Francis Scott Key's cousin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, was born on this date in 1896. His significant novels, inspired by the Jazz Age, includ...
Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Oh Deceit, Thy Home Is Marketing

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Two reports came out yesterday suggesting that folks forget the basic tenets taught to children -- don't lie or trick people. First, t...

Google Book Settlement: A Procedural Suggestion

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If ever there is need for a mulligan in litigation, the time is now. The parties in the Google class action litigation have announced thei...

If You Don't Like the Present Google Book Settlement, Then Wait, There's More

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The class action parties in the Google book settlement have thrown in the towel as far as the present settlement agreement is concerned. The...
Tuesday, September 22, 2009

When One Million Eyes Don't Count

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Is the Ninth Circuit correct that one million pairs of eyes are not relevant to a claim for copyright infringement? The Ninth Circuit basi...

Can the PTO Save Money?

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For years, the PTO's trademark side has had the technology to permit electronic filing and to generate electronic notices -- except for ...
Monday, September 21, 2009

Herbert George Wells

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Happy birthday to H.G. Wells. I try, but am not always successful, in noting significant events in literature. The birth of H.G. Wells, who ...