Privacy or Property? Arizona Court Adopts Post-Mortem Right of Publicity In...
The right of publicity, i.e., the right not to have others appropriate your name or image for commercial purposes, is an odd duck. It was described by Professor Prosser in 1960, and later in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Not To Market Your Business Online (Even If It Works): Claims Against...
Despite celebrity endorsements from the likes of Dennis Miller and Alan Thicke, all that glitters isn’t gold when it comes to the marketing of precious metal investments. In March 2014, American...
View ArticleWhen Can You Be Sued For Introducing Copyrighted Works At Trial? Almost...
Professor Nimmer once identified the “weakest infringement claims of all time” as those involving attempts by copyright holders to prevent their copyrighted work from being used as evidence against...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Use of Porn Star Images in “Romance Fraud” Dating Profiles Fails to Support...
The plaintiff in Avalos v. IAC/Interactive Corp. called it “one of the biggest conspiracies ever executed on the internet” — the unauthorized use of images of adult film stars in fake online dating...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sue-per Bowl Shuffle 2014: The Year in NFL-Related Intellectual Property...
Heading into this year’s Super Bowl party season, there are two things every lawyer should be concerned about. First, why can’t your team get it together? Second, what do you do if you are asked to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
And the Lawsuit Goes to . . . An Oscar-Time Guide to “Best Picture”...
The film that wins the Best Picture Oscar this year is certain to attract more viewers and more box office receipts than it had before receiving the award. But Best Picture winners also tend to attract...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Digilante Justice: Defamation By Camera Phone
Earlier this month, a man in Melbourne, Australia decided to take his very first selfie next to a Darth Vader poster at a local shopping center. A nearby shopper mistakenly thought that the man was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Political Speech, Trademarks And The Definition of “Goods or Services”
Last month witnessed the resolution of two trademark infringement cases involving the relationship between political activities and the definition of “goods or services.” On May 18, 2015, State Senator...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Right of Publicity Claims by Athletes Nearly Shut Out in 2015
When we published our Sue-per Bowl post, 2015 looked like it would be a good year for right of publicity claims brought by athletes. On January 6, 2015, the Ninth Circuit in Davis v. Electronic Arts...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Harry Potter Lawsuits And Where To Find Them
On July 31, 2015, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling celebrates her 50th birthday, according to muggle sources. The enormous success of Rowling’s literary creation and its associated multimedia empire...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Are You Sure This Isn’t About Copyright? Chicken Sandwiches, Monkey Selfies...
Last week, a wild crested macaque named Naruto (but really People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against photographer David John Slater in the Northern...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Authorship Credit for Scholarly and Creative Works: The Elusive American...
What if were to tell you that I jointly authored this article with a colleague, but that I’m not going to give her any credit or attribution because I don’t feel like it? Can she sue me for copyright...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Celebrity Trademark Watch: Who Owns Marilyn Monroe’s Image? – Right of...
In her posthumously published autobiography, My Story, screen legend Marilyn Monroe wrote: “I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful but because I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sue-per Bowl Shuffle II: The Year in NFL-Related Intellectual Property...
Around this time last year, I started worrying about what would happen if someone at a Super Bowl party asked me to explain an NFL-related lawsuit, particularly one of those IP-ish lawsuits that I’m...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The First Circuit’s “Scungy” Backpage: Copyright And Right Of Publicity...
In Doe v. Backpage.com, the First Circuit affirmed the District of Massachusetts in holding that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) shields from civil liability a website used by third...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Celebrity Trademark Watch: Beyoncé Sues Feyoncé and Fame is the Name of the Game
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, known to most as simply Beyoncé, and as “Bey” to those who like to pretend they know her, is about as famous as one can be. She transitioned from the acclaimed group...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Pleads Of The Many: 50 Years of Star Trek Lawsuits
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere of the original series of Star Trek, which first aired on NBC in September 1966. On July 22, this milestone will be marked in earnest when...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Trademark Year In Wine And Beer 2016: Our Holiday Buyer’s Guide To Disputed...
Just in time for the holiday season, we present our third annual Trademark Year in Wine and Beer, a wrap-up of alcohol-related trademark and trademark-ish disputes dating back to December 2015, when...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sue-per Bowl Shuffle III: The Year In NFL-Related Intellectual Property...
Two years ago, I started worrying about what would happen if someone at a Super Bowl party asked me to explain an NFL-related lawsuit, particularly one of those intellectual property lawsuits that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sexual Harassment Parody Commercial Held Not To Violate Lanham Act
Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act prohibits false or misleading statements in commerce that are likely to cause confusion as to a person’s affiliation, approval or sponsorship of someone else’s...
View Article