Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Court Affirms Da Vinci Code Ruling. The AP reports that "Court says `Da Vinci Code' not a copy." From the article: "One of the judges said copyright protects an author's labor in researching and writing a book, but does not extend to facts, theories, and themes."

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

$200 Won't Cover the Filing Fees. The AP reports in "Town to Martha Stewart: Hands off our name." From the article: "The society's vote allows the trademark committee to file formal opposition to Stewart's plans, and it authorized spending $200 toward legal costs."

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Looks Like Stanford's Fair Use Project Has Been Keeping Busy. Reuters reports that "James Joyce copyright case settled in California." From the article: "Carol Loeb Shloss, an acting professor of English at the California school, filed suit in June after she was forced by the estate to delete substantial portions of her book, 'Lucia Joyce: To Dance in the Wake.' It contained evidence of the younger Joyce's influence on her father's book 'Finnegans Wake.'"
ABBA Strikes Back. The AP reports that "Former ABBA members win court battle over musical script." From the article: "Seth, originally hired to write the script, argued he should be considered the main writer, but Ulvaeus and Andersson disputed the claim, saying his work was unusable and that they instead had to use a script by director Lars Rudolfsson and dramatist Jan Mark."
At Least He Didn't Tell Him it Was a Good Case. The Financial Expres reports in "Can’t tell your cokes apart? Sue someone." From the article: "The campaign is based on an oddball thought, that the executives at Coca-Cola who sell the flagship Coke Classic brand want to hire lawyers to sue their co-workers who sell Coke Zero. The grounds for the imaginary lawsuits would be 'taste infringement'—that is, it annoys the Coke Classic executives that no-calorie Coke Zero tastes so much like their sugared soft drink. In one commercial, a person identified as an actual lawyer who is not in on the joke, tells two actors portraying Coke Classic executives: 'It’ll be dismissed. You’ll be humiliated.' Other ads in the same litigious vein ask if you are 'a victim of taste confusion,' offer to help you 'sue a friend' and even assert that 'Coke Zero stole the taste of Coke.'"
Over/Unders on the Appeal? Reuters reports that "Cablevision Loses Network DVR court case." From the article: "Cablevision had hoped a network-based DVR system, called Remote Storage DVR or RS-DVR, would have done away with the need for the installation of hundreds of thousands of digital set-top boxes in subscribers' homes."

Thursday, March 22, 2007

I Guess the Writer Doesn't Like the RIAA. But the information is interesting. Ars Technica reports that "Judge's decision leaves RIAA with lose-lose situation in Elektra v. Santangelo." From the article: "The case of Elektra v. Santangelo has been one of the more closely followed cases in the RIAA's crusade against suspected file sharers, due in no small part to the aggressiveness of Patti Santangelo's defense. Ray Beckerman is reporting that Judge Colleen McMahon has denied the RIAA's motion to dismiss the case without prejudice, ruling that the case must either proceed to trial or be dismissed with prejudice."
Is Anyone Surprised by this Ruling? The AP reports that "Court strikes down Internet porn law." From the article: "In the ruling, the judge said parents can protect their children through software filters and other less restrictive means that do not limit the rights of others to free speech."

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

I Wonder How a Fair Use Defense Would Play Here. Statesman.com reports in "Texas as a trademark." From the article: "Kalaouze’s company Kalcorp Enterprises sells T-shirts with the sayings “Mess with Texas” and “Hunt Texas” on them in College Station stores and online. Neither shirt uses UT’s stylized block lettering, said Allan Van Fleet, Kalaouze’s attorney."
Seriously?!? Journalism schools should start offering a class on Intellectual Property 101. I'm so sick of seeing this type of hyperbole. Ekklesia reports that "East African livelihoods at risk in trademark threat." From the article:
Thousands of East Africans could lose their livelihoods – and the freedom to use a word from their language – if a trademark application by a UK company succeeds, says a leading Christian development organisation.

The application, by the Kikoy Company UK Ltd, would give the company sole commercial rights to the term “kikoy” – a corruption of “kikoi”, the Kiswahili word for the distinctive colourful, wrap skirts worn by men and women along the East African coast.


(And lest you argue that this group isn't composed of real journalists, compare this with other reporting on this issue here and here.)
Why Is the PTO Issuing This, Rather Than the Copyright Office? (And why is the PTO currently advertising for a copyright advisor position?) The Register reports that "US Patent Office says P2P threatens national security." From the article: "The US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) has launched a stinging attack on peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing services, publishing a report from its Office of International Relations earlier this month." You can read the report here.
It Looks Like This One Didn't Get a Thorough Quality Review Before Being Sent Out. Although the grounds for refusal appear to be spot-on. WorldNetDaily.com reports in "Feds get 'disgusting' over 'Obamanation'." From the article: "'It is a Wikipedia entry for a pretty disgusting, unorthodox sexual device,' said Cotto, struggling to find a way to politely describe what he received. 'I was at work, and my jaw dropped open. I literally screamed for my co-workers. They freaked out just as I did.'" Interestingly, if you look at the Trademark Document Retrieval system for Ser. No. 77/091,557, the Office Action is conspicuously missing (although it's attached to the March 7, 2007 response). Finally, is anyone else as shocked as I am that an office action issued against this application less than two weeks after it was filed?
Feds Crack Down on Invention Scheme. Newsday reports in "Company advertised to help patent seekers under investigation." From the article: "PTI salespeople tell inventors that the company makes money by licensing the products. But by Gumpel's own admission, the company that supposedly licenses PTI's inventions has never successfully negotiated a license agreement."
That's What You Call a Bad Fact. The Seattle Times reports in "Earthbound legal squabble leaves Duvall cafe moonstruck." From the article: "Before he opened, Snow searched the Internet for high-end chocolates, came across Moonstruck's Web site and ordered a box for a taste test, he said. He was so impressed with the quality, he said, he contacted the company about selling the chocolates in his store."

Monday, March 19, 2007

Another Argument for Recognizing Residual Goodwill. Since Life would have been presumed abandoned. Slate reports in "Attack of the Zombie Brands!" From the article: "Life, now in its third incarnation, has been similarly updated to keep pace with the times—or at least to stay just behind them. Founded in 1936, the Time, Inc. property was a great, picture-laden weekly magazine. But in 1972, having been superseded by television and other magazines, it stopped publication. The powerful brand was revived as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. But, having been superseded by television, other magazines, and the Internet, it closed again in 2000. In 2004, Life returned as a celebrity-oriented, fluffy weekly that is inserted in Sunday newspapers."

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Off Topic, But Can You Imagine Poll Results Like This in the US? Reuters reports in "Most Germans want speed limit on autobahn?" From the article: "The survey also showed that 56 percent of Germans believe flights should be taxed at a higher rate because of the environmental damage they cause."
After 9/11, How Original is That, Really? Reuters reports that "New York artists sue NBC over 'Heroes' concept." From the article: "The artists said their work focused on an artist who paints the future and who specifically paints the destruction of two landmark buildings in New York City. They alleged this was 'strikingly similar' to the character of Isaac Mendez on 'Heroes,' whose paintings of the future depict an explosion in New York City."
Would the Doctrine of Equivalents Affect the Strength in the U.S.? Reuters reports in "Court: 'Oscar' may be generic term in Italian." From the article: "In denying AMPAS' motion for summary judgment, U.S. District Court Judge Audrey Collins wrote that there is no question that the Oscar mark is strong in the English language and, 'The use of 'Oscar' to describe an award or awards program is arbitrary or fanciful and deserves maximum protection. However, EchoStar has presented evidence showing that the word 'Oscar' could be considered generic in Italy and in the Italian language.'"
I Guess She Won't be Guesting on The Simpsons. The AP reports that "Carol Burnett sues over use of Charwoman." From the article: "Carol Burnett has filed a $2 million copyright infringement lawsuit against 20th Century Fox, claiming her cleaning woman character was portrayed on the animated series 'Family Guy.' The U.S. District Court lawsuit, which was filed Thursday, said the Fox show didn't have the 73-year-old comedian's permission to include her cleaning woman character, Charwoman, in an April 2006 episode." (Full disclosure: My firm represents News Corp.)

Thursday, March 08, 2007

I Bet This One is Headed for an Appeal. Reuters reports that "Vonage found guilty in Verizon patent case." From the article: "The eight-member jury assessed Vonage $58 million in damages and ordered it to pay a 5.5 percent royalty rate on Vonage sales going forward."
Interesting False Advertising Case. Law.com reports in "How Sweet It Isn't: Equal, Splenda to Clash in Trial." From the article: "In a court battle between the makers of the nation's leading sugar substitutes -- Equal and Splenda -- a federal judge has ruled that a jury must decide whether Splenda is misleading consumers by claiming in its ads and on its packaging that the product is 'made from sugar so it tastes like sugar.'"

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Am I Missing Something? From this description, I don't see how Ono owns a copyright in the material. The BBC reports that "Lennon documentary blocked by Ono." From the article: "The footage was shot by Ono's former husband Tony Cox and was sold in 2000 for $1m (£760,000) to Mr Thomas and his backers."

Monday, March 05, 2007

Whose Afraid of Webcasting? Certainly sounds like the RIAA is. Wired reports that "U.S. Copyright Royalty Board Rejects Webcasters, Embraces SoundExchange." From the article: "Even adding in ancillary revenues from occasional video gateway ads, banner ads on the website, and so forth, total revenues per listener-hour would only be in the 1.0 to 1.2 cents per listener-hour range. That math suggests that the royalty rate decision — for the performance alone, not even including composers' royalties! — is in the in the ballpark of 100% or more of total revenues."
WikiPatents? The Washington Post reports in "Open Call From the Patent Office." From the article: "The Patent and Trademark Office is starting a pilot project that will not only post patent applications on the Web and invite comments but also use a community rating system designed to push the most respected comments to the top of the file, for serious consideration by the agency's examiners. A first for the federal government, the system resembles the one used by Wikipedia, the popular user-created online encyclopedia."

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Some Good News for Microsoft. Reuters reports that "Judge rules for Microsoft in Alcatel-Lucent suit." From the article: "U.S. District Judge Rudi Brewster in San Diego dismissed all of Alcatel-Lucent's claims in a summary judgment, meaning that the jury trial set to begin on March 19 will not take place. Alcatel-Lucent said it plans to appeal the ruling."