Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Corollary to 'Keep the Negatives': Keep the Masters. Reuters reports that "Kanye West sues Chicago DJ over unreleased songs." From the article: "West is suing for violation of his publicity, privacy and trademark rights among other claims. He asks the court to void the fraudulent recording agreement and award $100,000 in general damages and at least $200,000 in punitive damages."
This is News? Reuters reports that "Recording industry sues more U.S. file-swappers." 754 this time.
Another Bite at Apple. The AP reports that "Apple Comes Under New Patent Challenge." From the article: "Raising another legal threat to the iPod music player, Creative Technology Ltd. said it has been awarded a U.S. patent for a song-navigation technology it claims is used on Apple Computer Inc.'s market-leading devices." Reuters has this report.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Do Lil' Flip's Fans Even Remember Pac Man? Reuters reports that "Namco settles Pac-Man music suit against Sony." From the article: "Namco America Inc. and Sony BMG Music Entertainment said on Monday they settled a lawsuit in which Namco charged that a Sony BMG artist used sounds from its popular Pac-Man arcade game in violation of intellectual property laws."

Monday, August 29, 2005

Heavy Metal to Sell Chicken??? Reuters reports in "For Burger King and Slipknot, a game of chicken." From the article: "Burger King and CP+B actually beat Slipknot to the punch. On August 12, they filed a federal District Court action in the companies' home court of Florida against the band. It asks the court to declare that their use of a mock heavy metal band wearing chicken masks in a TV commercial does not violate any rights -- including publicity and trademark -- of Slipknot or its individual band members."
Is Anyone Surprised? Reuters reports that "Piracy crackdown spurs shift in online file-sharing." From the article: "Traffic in the popular file-sharing network BitTorrent has fallen in the wake of a crackdown on piracy, but file sharers have merely shifted to another network, eDonkey, new data released on Monday showed."

Saturday, August 27, 2005

More on Perfect 10's Suit Against Google. Internetnews.com reports in "A Perfect Storm of Infringement." From the article: "Zada argues that Google should be held liable for helping searchers find sites that display stolen Perfect 10 images because, in many cases, those sites also show Google AdSense contextual ads. 'Google not only copies and displays Perfect 10 images itself,' the request for the injunction reads, 'but also links them to Infringing Sites with which Google has partnered and from which Google receives revenue through its AdSense advertising program.'"

Friday, August 26, 2005

I'm Surprised It Took So Long. Reuters reports that "Library sues over controversial Patriot Act." From the article: "Critical details of the lawsuit were blacked out on the ACLU's Web site in compliance with the gag order. The library is thought to be based in Connecticut since the lawsuit was filed there with the participation of the Connecticut branch of the ACLU."

Monday, August 22, 2005

1977? Interesting that it Was 10 Years After Gilligan's Island Went Off the Air... Reuters reports that "ABC, Touchstone sued over 'Lost'." From the article: "Spinner claims that he was hired by Sid and Marty Krofft Prods. in 1977 to write, produce and develop a script for a TV program to be produced by ABC that was titled 'Lost.' It was about a group of airplane crash survivors who struggle to survive in a jungle where they encounter strange creatures and dangerous characters."

Thursday, August 18, 2005

I Wonder If They Would Have Sued Veruca Salt? E! Online reports in "Archie v. the Veronicas." From the article: "In any case, Archie Comics is convinced that a band traipsing the globe under the name of the Veronicas will 'damag[e] the Veronica character's image to her legion of fans.'"

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

D'oh! The AP reports that "Apple, Microsoft Duel Over iPod Patent." From the article: "Given the intense rivalry between Apple Computer Inc. and Microsoft Corp., this recent revelation had a comedic tinge: Apple took too long to file a patent on part of its blockbuster iPod music players, so Microsoft beat Apple to it."
My Hometown. BoingBoing reports in "iBook stampede." From the article: "A near riot broke out when a crowd of 5,500 to 11,000 people rushed through a gate to buy used iBooks being sold by the school district for $50. Only 1,000 iBook were being sold, and people were in a rush to get to the sales counter first."
Dell on the Hot Seat. Reuters reports that "DVD software maker Intervideo sues Dell on patents." From the article: "InterVideo alleges Dell violated its U.S. Patent No. 6,765,788 that covers the integration of certain PC and electronic device functions. The company's software allows a DVD disk to automatically start playing a movie when a user inserts a disk into a computer running an InterVideo program."

Sunday, August 14, 2005

I Guess I Shouldn't Call This Blawg the IP Olympics... The AP reports that "USOC Forces 'Ferret Olympics' Name Change." From the article: "In July, a Minnesota rock band changed its name from the Olympic Hopefuls to the Hopefuls but was allowed to keep its signature track suits. The ImprovOlympic, a comedy club in Chicago, also opted to change its name, to I.O., rather than fight a threatened trademark infringement lawsuit."
Music Industry Has a New Villain Du Jour. The AP reports that "Music Industry Worried About CD Burning." From the article: "Music copied onto blank recordable CDs is becoming a bigger threat to the bottom line of record stores and music labels than online file-sharing, the head of the recording industry's trade group said Friday."

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Sounds To Me Like The Concern Should Be The Number of Boxes He Used. Wired reports that "Furniture Causes FedEx Fits." From the article: "But that feel-good message seems to be lost on FedEx. The company claims that Avila is infringing on its trademark and its copyright. The day after Avila launched the site in June, FedEx asked him to take it down, claiming he had violated the DMCA." Looking at the photos, however, it looks like he took quite a few FedEx boxes to make this furniture. I know that Maryland has a rule against taking excessive quantities of "free" items. (It was passed in the wake of a problem with a certain student group attempting to stealing all of the copies of my college's newspaper over what the student group considered to be an offensive cartoon. Thus, there may be certain elements of the crime that are not met here. However, I don't think it's unreasonable for FedEx to decline to fund everybody's home decorating activities.)
Surely They're Not Trying to Prevent Use of the "Concept." Writers with no IP background covering IP stories is one of my pet peeves... E!Online reports that "Simon Sued Over Big 'Idea'." From the article: "But if Walker and Golden have their way, those episodes will never hit the airwaves. Among other damages, their lawsuit seeks immediate injunctive relief, preventing ABC from using the series' name or concept."
Do You Think Soverain's Attorneys Were Working on Contingency? Reuters reports that "Amazon.com settles patent lawsuit for $40 million." From the article: "Amazon.com Inc. on Thursday said it will pay $40 million in the third quarter to settle a patent infringement lawsuit with Soverain Software LLC."

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Who Knew Pesticide Labels Were So Involved? Law.com reports in "Federal Judge Calls Foul in Race to Courthouse." From the article: "Insecticide labels are often hefty documents -- sometimes coming in the form of a 10-page booklet -- and are strictly controlled by federal law. Every label must be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency before a product hits the shelves. FMC claims it spent more than 13 years and nearly $400,000 in the process of developing the label for bifenthrin products."

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Sounds Like the Keystone Kops are Running Our Schools. The AP reports that "Students Charged With Computer Trespass." From the article: "At least one student viewed pornography. Some students also turned off the remote monitoring function and turned the tables on their elders - using it to view administrators' own computer screens."
Two Words: Password Protection. CNN reports in"Stealing your neighbor's Internet? Experts urge caution." From the article: "According to Geraty, using your neighbor's wireless is specifically prohibited in the California penal code. 'It's not yours and you're taking it,' he says."

Friday, August 05, 2005

I Didn't Know that the Notion of a "Divine Feminine" Was So Original. Reuters reports that "N.Y. court rules Brown didn't copy 'Da Vinci Code'." From the article: "He alleged that Brown copied the basic premise of 'Daughter of God,' including notions of a 'divine feminine' and the transition from a female to a male-dominated church under Roman Emperor Constantine."
I Can See It Now... ...Sony engineers behind bars. Wired reports that "Europe Follows Grokster's Lead." From the article: "A directive being pushed by the European Commission would, among other things, criminalize 'attempting, aiding or abetting and inciting' acts of copyright infringement. The EU parliament will take up the proposal later this year."

Thursday, August 04, 2005

Maybe They Can Just Wait... ... until 2028, when the works fall into the public domain. E!Online reports that "Legal Duel Over 'Zorro'." From the article: "In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Sobrini claims it alone owns the exclusive rights to the 1919 Johnston McCulley serial, The Curse of Capistrano, from which the classic Zorro character is drawn. Sony, the suit claims, controls the rights to later stories."

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

More Developments in Blackberry Case. Reuters reports that "U.S. court scales back patent ruling against RIM." From the article: "The appeals court overturned the lower court's finding that RIM had infringed NTP Inc.'s 'method' patents, but reaffirmed the infringement of patents of the e-mail 'system.'"

Monday, August 01, 2005

How'd They Go This Long? Reuters reports that "Music labels file online piracy lawsuits in UK." From the article: "Record companies in Britain are filing their first ever lawsuits against five people accused of illicitly sharing music online, after settling out of court with dozens of others."