World's Most Counterfeited Brand
Design You Trust: "World's Most Counterfeited Fashion Brand"
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August 31, 2008
August 30, 2008
HARI PUTTAR and the Lawsuit in India
Article about Warner Bros lawsuit against producers of Indian film Hari Puttar.
From the trailer, it sort of looks like "Home Alone"
August 29, 2008
"Could Net Radio's Extinction Be Close?
WaPo: "Could Net Radio's Extinction Be Close?":
Faced with huge song royalty increases, Net radio may soon face extinction. That is according to Internet radio Webcaster Pandora's founder Tim Westergren. He told the Washington Post his popular music Webcasting site is about to go offline because of increases in royalties his company must pay to the music industry. Westergren says that the Copyright Royalty Board's agreement with SoundExchange, the royalties collecting arm of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), is about to increase fees Pandora pays and thereby turn its small profits into a deficit.
Text of Io v Veoh DMCA Ruling and EFF Commentary
EFF: "Required Reading for "User-Generated Content" Sites":
In an important ruling handed down yesterday, a federal district court threw out a copyright infringement suit brought by adult video producer Io Group against Veoh, concluding that the video hosting site qualifies for the DMCA safe harbor. The ruling should be required reading for the executives of every "Web 2.0" business that relies on "user-generated content."Veoh, like YouTube, is a streaming video site that hosts videos uploaded by users. Io Group sued Veoh in 2006 after finding clips from 10 of its copyrighted adult films on the Veoh site. So far, this is a familiar story -- user-generated content site gets sued by copyright owner for naughty uploading habits of users (see, e.g., lawsuits against MySpace, iMeem, YouTube, Redlasso, Hi5, Multiply, Stage6, MP3tunes, Scribd, Usenet.com, Bolt, and Grouper). But this is the first case to get to a final ruling, and it's a total victory for Veoh.
UK iPhone Ad Banned for False Advertising
SlashDot: "iPhone Web Claims Draw Governmental Rebuke in UK":
"Apple has been running an iPhone ad saying 'all parts of the internet are on the iPhone', but it had to be withdrawn after Britain's Advertising Standards Authority ruled that it gave 'a misleading impression of the internet capabilities of the iPhone' because the iPhone cannot access Flash or Java – features that are essential to some websites. This raises an interesting issue of where do you draw the line between essential and non-essential features of websites. What should the web look like? Should government authorities be the ones making that decision?"
Cash vs Credit Prices on Gas Station Signage
Newsday: Gas Station owners say Cuomo's charges are wrong:
Particularly grating on the retailers was the statement in Cuomo's news releases saying the stations "engaged in false advertising by only listing the lower cash prices on their street view signage in order to lure patrons to the pump." A story last week about the Long Island investigation said "both prices - one for cash and one for credit card payment - must be listed on all signs."Yesterday, both Beyer and Cohen said that's inaccurate. State law allows retailers, if they wish, to post only the lower cash price on their large signs near the street as long as they make clear on the sign that the price is only for cash purchases and that signs on the pumps list both cash and credit prices.
August 26, 2008
IPC Paper on Sunrise Mechanisms for gTLDs
The Intellectual Property Constitutency of ICANN has released this paper on sunrise mechanisms for opening new generic top level domain names.
Paul Simon v Clock that plays 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters"
Paul Simon sues vendor of clock that plays 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters"
August 25, 2008
"Anime, Moral Rights and Market Failure"
Joshua Daniels: "Lost in Translation': Anime, Moral Rights, and Market Failure":
This Note examines the process by which Japanese anime series are translated, dubbed, and distributed in the United States, with a particular focus on cases in which the dubbed version has been heavily edited from the original source material. These heavily-edited dubbed versions are often commercial failures because they are rejected by many U.S. fans who are familiar with the original Japanese version of the series through the consumption of illegal "fansubbed" versions. Even though these transactions seem wasteful and thus should be avoided, their occurrence on several different occasions over the years is difficult to explain.HT Copyright Law Twitter
This Note argues that these cases are the result of a failure of the anime licensing market to take into account the legitimate interests and expectations of U.S. fans in the integrity of the series, which ought to be considered even though the moral rights of the original creators technically might not be infringed. Drawing upon prior scholarly literature which justifies the fair use defense in copyright law as a means of curing market failures, this Note proposes the adoption of a limited fair use defense for infringing "fansubs" where the authorized dubbed version of the series has been heavily edited and there exists no other legal means by which U.S. fans may enjoy the series in its original form in the United States.
Trump Sues Former Law Firm Over Use of Name
ABA Journal: Trump Claims Firm Invaded Privacy By Posting Name on Website:
Donald Trump is involved in a dispute with his former firm Morrison Cohen which led to litigation in April. The firm claims he owes unapid fees, he accuses the firm of malpractice. As of August, the firm indicated on its website that it had represented him. He is now suing in New York Supreme Court for breach of NY's Civil Rights Law regarding use of his name with his consent (8/8/2008 08-110830).
Sheboygan Woman Files 'Landmark' Case Over Web Links
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Sheboygan Women (sic) Files Landmark Case Over Web Links":
Boyden said some companies require other Web sites to get permission to link to them, but he knew of no companies, much less a government body, that have tried to enforce violations of that condition if the links didn’t infringe on a copyright or trademark.Boyden said not all speech is protected, including links. For instance, someone might use a link to communicate a threat or violate a copyright, and that wouldn’t be protected.
The lawsuit doesn’t show how Reisinger used the link to Sheboygan police or the city’s cease-and-desist order, but Boyden said it appeared from the lawsuit to be protected speech.
August 22, 2008
More Commentary re Hasbro's Strategy re SCRABULOUS
Knowledge@wharton: "War of the Words: Scrabulous is off Facebook, but did hasbro Win the Game?
:
On the corporate side, the issue is less about money than copyright infringement and brand control. Wharton faculty note, however, that Hasbro may be doing more harm than good to its brand by going after Scrabulous. It not only risks alienating existing Scrabulous users, they say, but also misses the opportunity to capitalize on Scrabulous's success in the difficult-to-harness social networking world.Peter Fader, co-director of the Wharton Interactive Media Initiative, believes Hasbro's action is an "incredibly bad business decision." There is no evidence the Agarwalla brothers were doing "something absolutely disparaging" to the Scrabble brand, he says. In fact, Scrabulous "has been such a fabulously good thing for the Scrabble franchise [that] Hasbro should have been celebrating."
August 18, 2008
CNN Video On 'Olympic Knockoffs'
TANG In San Ignacio, Belize
August 10, 2008
Our Audience at the ABA Today
Not The Madrid Protocol But An Incredible Simulation
WIPO Madrid International Application Simulator:
The simulator is designed to show you how to use the Madrid System to seek the protection of your mark* abroad. At the end of the simulation, it will also help you estimate the cost of registering your mark through the Madrid System, a simple, easy and cost-effective international registration procedure.
HT Carl O.
August 08, 2008
And Then Again It May Not
Counterfeit Chic points out a somewhat ambiguous poster in China advising that the selling of fakes may constitute crime.
What A Reverse Domain Name Hijacking Opinion Looks Like
Registrant obtained COLLECTIVEMEDIA.COM in 2002. Opponent begins use in 2005, brungs UDRP. Held: opponent should have known it would lose. Collective Media, Inc. v CKV . COLLECTIVEMEDIA.COM WIPO D2008-0641.
August 07, 2008
The TTAB Means What It Says About Evidence, con't
TTABlog: Evidentiary Errors Lead to Dismissal of 2(d) Opposition for Failure to Prove Prioirty:
Rule 2.120 is a bit long, but it is worth reading now and then.
Com Laude Newsletter On The New gTLDs
Registrar Com Laude (run by friends of the blog Nick and Lorna) on the new gTLDs:
Can't Blog About Times Article On Girl Talk
I see the article, I want to comment on the 'substituting creativity for your own' comment, but then I start playing Feed the Animal, people come into my office, they say 'is that 'Body Movin' by the Beastie Boys, we look at the list of the samples, somebody else comes in, they hear the Radiohead sample, then it's forty minutes later.
August 05, 2008
Nike Sues EMS Over Use of DRI-FIT As Keyword
Nike sues Eastern Mountain Sports for keying ads for its wicking apparel to Nike's trademark DRI-FIT.
Ad Age commentary here.Nike
Text of Decision in 2d Circuit Remote DVR decision
"China Learning Fast in IPR, Also The Bad Habits"
IPEG.EU: "China learning fast in IPR, also the bad habits":
Some bad copyright practices in Europe China now emulates. Take this recent article on People’s Daily about China copyrighting ancient images. Digital technology is being used to conserve the famous Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang, in Northwest China’s Gansu Province (on UNESCO World Heritage List since 1987). The “Digital Dunhuang” project, which aims to pool all the treasures from Dunhuang, “protects its intellectual property rights (IPR) in the digital era” as it is called by the Chinese.
August 04, 2008
Text of Decision In Lucasfilms v Ainsworth (Stormtrooper Copyright)
Lucasfilm Ltd v Ainsworth [2008] EWHC 1878 (ch) (31 July 2008):
This is a case about the reproduction of replicas of various props used in the first Star Wars film. The Star Wars films are a series of science fiction films set at some different time and in another part of the Universe, and which feature the struggle between good and evil. They contain a heavy militaristic element, and that in turn requires uniforms. This case concerns the production of uniforms for the first of the films in the series, which is known as "Star Wars IV – A New Hope" and which was first shown in 1977. It bears the number IV, even though it was the first in the series to be produced, so as to leave room for expansion backwards in time, as it were, or "prequels". I shall simply call it "Star Wars", or "the film". The second claimant was the English production company for the film; all the claimant companies are, taken together, the producing or licensing companies, and it is accepted that between them they have the necessary rights (if anyone has) to bring the claims made in this action.
Dell Receives Notice of Allowance for CLOUD COMPUTING
Word Mark CLOUD COMPUTING
Goods and Services:
IC 040. Custom manufacture of computer hardware for use in data centers and mega-scale computing environments for others
IC 042 Design of computer hardware for use in data centers and mega-scale computing environments for others; customization of computer hardware for use in data centers and mega-scale computing environments for others; design and development of networks for use in data centers and mega-scale computing environments for others; Consulting services for data centers and mega-scale computing environments in the fields of design, selection, implementation, customization and use of computer hardware and software systems for others; Consulting services for data centers and mega-scale computing environments in the fields of design, selection, implementation, customization and use of computer hardware and software systems for others
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 77139082
Filing Date March 23, 2007
Published for Opposition April 15, 2008
Owner (APPLICANT) Dell Inc.
Disclaimer NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE "COMPUTING" APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN
Cloud Computer illustration from here.
UPDATE: 43(B)log weighs in.
"Copyright and California's Anti-SLAPP Law"
43(B)log: "Copyright and California's Anti-SLAPP Law":
Duncan sued defendants, including the Sierra Club, based on Thomas Cohen and Kristi Cohen’s attempts to make a film of Duncan’s book The River Why. He alleged copyright infringement and various state-law claims.The court first rejected the argument that California’s anti-SLAPP statute applied to federal claims. It then reached the same conclusion as to the state law claims. The threshold question is whether the state-law claims arise out of protected activity—the exercise of free speech.
11 Letter Synonym For Scrabulous Is Wordscraper
NY Times: "On Facebook, an 11-Letter Synonym for Scrabulous Turns Out To Be Wordscraper":
Unfortunately for Hasbro, players are not universally flocking to Hasbro’s official Scrabble game. Instead thousands are downloading Wordscraper, which has been available on Facebook since January but attracted little attention until Scrabulous shut down, and heading to their old favorite, Scrabulous, on the game’s independent Web site at www.scrabulous.com. Wordscraper had about 80,000 daily users on Facebook as of Sunday night and the Web site Scrabulous.com had thousands of players online on Sunday.
August 02, 2008
Warning: $2000 Fine, 5 Years Imprisonment, or Both, For Any Person Interfering or Obstructing With Delivery Of This Letter, 18 Sec 1702 Code
or so Heritage Mortage Banking Corp. of Morristown, NJ would have you believe. Se Habla Espanol.