By: Andrew L. Deutsch and Tamar Y. Duvdevani On March 4, 2019, the United States Supreme Court decided an important issue of copyright law that had divided federal courts for years. In Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, the question was: when can a copyright claimant sue for infringement – as soon as it files … Continue Reading
By: Melinda Upton, Nicholas Boyle, Jessie Buchan, Lucy Meadley and Valiant Warzecha Businesses are constantly looking for an extra dimension that will allow their brand to cut through the saturation of the modern world. Increasingly, corporate re-brands or brand refreshes are including bespoke musical themes known as ‘sound identities’ or ‘audio brands’ to create a … Continue Reading
By: John Wilks, Claire Sng and Sophie Anim Background The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has announced, following its investigation (see our earlier article available here), that it has secured commitments from 16 social media influencers about how they post online (see link to CMA press release here). The influencers, including singer Rita Ora and … Continue Reading
By: John M. Nading, Ashley H. Joyce, and Devika Persaud In a sign of a potentially liberalizing trend for standing at the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the Board recently ruled that a consumer had standing to oppose a company’s application for the trademark RAPUNZEL for dolls and toy figures. Curtin v. United Trademark … Continue Reading
By: Ryan Compton and Thomas Holguin After many years of litigation and lobbying expenses, the battle over pre-1972 music rights has finally been ended. On October 11, 2018, President Trump signed the Music Modernization Act (“MMA”), legislation that purports to provide additional protection for song writers and publishers, as well as to provide a clearer … Continue Reading
By Désirée Fields (Legal Director, London) and Yannick Aaron Zirnstein (Referendar/Trainee Lawyer, Cologne) Important changes to UK trademark law will come into effect on 14 January 2019 in order to implement the European Trademark Directive 2015. While some of the changes are minor in the nature, others are quite significant or even brand new. The … Continue Reading
By Désirée Fields and Sam Mitchell Geographical Indications (GIs) are signs used on products in order to inform consumers about a product’s geographical origin and a quality, characteristic or reputation of the product linked to its place of origin. GIs such as Scotch Whiskey and Parmesan cheese, have generated significant value for EU farmers and … Continue Reading
By: Sam Mitchell THE UNITARY PATENT (UP) AND UNIFIED PATENT COURT (UPC) BACKGROUND This week, the UK Government released multiple technical notes detailing the intellectual property implications of a no-deal Brexit for exhaustion of rights, patents, trademarks and designs, and copyright. A few months ago, the idea of a no-deal Brexit was only entertained as … Continue Reading
By: Sam Mitchell BACKGROUND This week, the UK Government released multiple technical notes detailing the intellectual property implications of a no-deal Brexit for exhaustion of rights, patents, trademarks and designs, and copyright. A few months ago, the idea of a no-deal Brexit was only entertained as a highly unlikely, ‘worst-case scenario’. The following four notes … Continue Reading
By: Sam Mitchell PATENTS BACKGROUND This week, the UK Government released multiple technical notes detailing the intellectual property implications of a no-deal Brexit for exhaustion of rights, patents, trademarks and designs, and copyright. A few months ago, the idea of a no-deal Brexit was only entertained as a highly unlikely, ‘worst-case scenario’. The following four … Continue Reading
By: Sam Mitchell TRADEMARKS AND DESIGNS BACKGROUND This week, the UK Government released multiple technical notes detailing the intellectual property implications of a no-deal Brexit for exhaustion of rights, patents, trademarks and designs, and copyright. A few months ago, the idea of a no-deal Brexit was only entertained as a highly unlikely, ‘worst-case scenario’. The … Continue Reading
By: Sam Mitchell BACKGROUND This week, the UK Government released multiple technical notes detailing the intellectual property implications of a no-deal Brexit for exhaustion of rights, patents, trademarks and designs, and copyright. A few months ago, the idea of a no-deal Brexit was only entertained as a highly unlikely, ‘worst-case scenario’. The following four notes … Continue Reading
By: John Nading, Ashley Joyce, and Devika Persaud In a 7-4 en banc decision last Friday, July 27, the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that language in the Patent Act does not allow the USPTO to recover its attorneys’ fees regardless of which party prevails in a district court litigation. NantKwest, Inc. v. … Continue Reading
By: Victoria Lee This post originally appeared on DLA Piper Accelerate, DLA Piper’s dedicated online resource for entrepreneurs. When a company’s intellectual property is core to its business, investors and prospective acquirers want to know that the company owns all the rights to that intellectual property. In most cases, owning intellectual property is preferable to … Continue Reading
We are pleased to announce that Thomas Zutic has been named chair of our Trademark, Copyright & Media practice in Washington, DC. Congratulations, Tom! Please see DLA Piper’s press release below: Zutic’s intellectual property practice encompasses trademark counseling, with an emphasis on the selection, adoption and use of trademarks, domestic and international trademark prosecution, and … Continue Reading
By Tamar Duvdevani and Matthew Ganas (with contributions from Michael Varrige) The Copyright Act (the “Act”) permits copyright holders to bring civil infringement actions in federal district courts to enforce the exclusive rights provided under the Act, namely, the rights to reproduce, distribute, display, publicly perform, and create derivatives of an original work of authorship. … Continue Reading
By: Frank Ryan and Matt Ganas (with contribution from Michael Varrige) The California federal district court, in Davis v. Electronic Arts Inc., recently issued the latest in a series of decisions involving athletes’ right of publicity (“ROP”) claims aimed at Electronic Arts’ (“EA”) popular sports videogame franchise. The plaintiffs in Davis are retired NFL players … Continue Reading
By Ryan C. Compton, Ashley H. Joyce, and Naomi E. Abraham (Washington, D.C.) Today’s means of communication is ever more dependent on social media. Whether you’re an individual, a one-woman shop, a fortune-500 company, or even the President of the United States, social media is the fastest and easiest way to be heard. But where … Continue Reading
By: Ruth Hoy and James Tighe On 6 September 2017, the EU Commission published its position paper setting out the main principles that will govern its attitude to Brexit negotiations with the UK on intellectual property (the “Paper”). The Paper sets out 5 General Principles: Principle 1: European IP rights should continue to retain comparable … Continue Reading
By: Karine Disdier-Mikus, Dr. Ulrike Gruebler, and Désirée Fields EU trademark law is currently undergoing the biggest reform in its history. 1 October 2017 marks another important milestone in the implementation of the EU Trademark Reform Package as a further set of very important amendments will come into force. The main areas of change include the … Continue Reading
By John Nading, David Kramer, James Stewart, and Alberto Zacapa The Supreme Court today struck down the disparagement clause of the Lanham Act as facially invalid under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment, affirming the decision of the Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit. This outcome in Matal v. Tam is a victory … Continue Reading
By Melinda Upton and Claire Kermond (Sydney) In the retail and fashion industries, names and marks are a key element of the marketing strategies and longevity of brands. Using generic marks or names can land retailers and fashion designers in trouble when it comes to successfully trademarking and protecting their brand.… Continue Reading
By Rohan Singh, Jessica Noakesmith and Brett Shandler Universal Music Australia Pty Limited v TPG Internet Pty Ltd [2017] FCA 435 (28 April 2017) (Universal Music) Last week in the Federal Court of Australia, over thirty internet service providers (ISPs) including TPG, Optus and Telstra were ordered to block access to the torrenting website KickassTorrents … Continue Reading
By Tamar Duvdevani On March 22, 2017, in a 6-2 decision authored by Justice Thomas, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the designs on Varsity Brands’ cheerleading uniforms are eligible for copyright protection. The crux of this decision relates to the fact that the United States Copyright Act treats the copyrightability of “useful articles” … Continue Reading
