IP BLAWG

In Brief:  On January 1 of each year, some copyrighted works fall into the public domain. That means, they are free for use, copying and as a basis for derivative works. Works created before 1928 are now in the public domain. Thousands of works spanning all copyright categories make up the Public Domain Class of […]

In Brief:  There’s a limit to how many permutations of a word can avoid a likelihood of confusion. Here’s What Happened:   Belgravia Wood Limited, a British Virgin Islands company, owns numerous trademarks, many of which involve Christmas lights (e.g. “Radian Micro LED”, “Greenwood Pine” and “Crystal Pine”). Belgravia has not always been successful in […]

In Brief:  Joint inventorship can be based on designs disclosed during an investment pitch. Here’s What Happened:   Gary Ragner designed a hose and assigned the invention to his company, Ragner Technology Corp. In 2011, Ragner was looking for investors to bring its MicroHose product to market. Gary met with Michael Berardi, who had a […]

In Brief: When manufacturing stops, cancellation of a trademark is not far behind. Here’s What Happened:   Peavey Electronics Corporation manufactured a popular series of amplifiers from the 1970s to 2013 under the brand “CS”. Peavey shipped amplifier manufacturing to China and eventually dropped the CS brand from its catalogue. Domestic sales of CS amps […]

In Brief:  Trade dress protection is not available for functional elements of a product.  Here’s What Happened:   PIM Brands, Inc. makes candy. So does Hairbo of America Inc. About 20 years ago, PIM started selling a chewy sour candy it called “Sour Jack Wedges”. The candy looked like a watermelon edge, complete with the […]

In Brief: Third party websites can imbed photos and avoid copyright infringement. Here’s What Happened:   In 2007, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that imbedding thumbnails of photos on a website is not copyright infringement. (Perfect 10 v. Amazon, 508 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 2007). The North Circuit reasoned that embedding an image […]

In Brief:  A trademark cannot be cancelled after a fraudulent declaration of incontestability. Here’s What Happened:   First, a little background about the Section 15 declaration of incontestability for a trademark. Before the fifth anniversary of the registration of a trademark, the registration is prima facie evidence of rights in the mark. So, the USPTO […]

In Brief: Using the same elements in a trademark doesn’t automatically create a likelihood of confusion. Here’s What Happened: Relish Labs and the Kroger Company create and deliver meal kits under the brand “Home Chef”. They registered the mark and several versions including fork and knife appearing within the outline of a house. Grubhub, the […]

In Brief:  Fleeting use of a creative work for the purposes of commentary is fair use. Here’s What Happened:   In the spring of 2020, during the world-wide pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus, many found solace in watching the Netflix docuseries, Tiger King. The series focused on a big cat breeder in Oklahoma, Joseph […]