Litigation
Lyft and Uber Involved in Trade Secrets Case
Ride sharing company Lyft Inc. is asking the courts to prevent their number one competitor in the ride service industry, Uber Technologies Inc., from accessing confidential information about its drivers. This is the latest in a case involving a data … Continue reading
Authors Guild Case May Reach Supreme Court
The Authors Guild’s long-running dispute with Google could be reaching a final conclusion in the coming weeks. All of it depends on whether or not Supreme Court decides to take up the case. At issue is Google’s scanning of books … Continue reading
Newegg Sues Patent Troll After they Drop Case
There seems to be no end to the number of people or even companies who will try to enforce patent rights against other companies. Many of these companies don’t really manufacture anything at all, but they want to be paid … Continue reading
Beastie Boys Settle Lawsuit with Monster Beverage Corp
The Beastie Boys have settled a suit that they brought against Monster Beverage Corp. They fought for their copyright, and now they have settled for a sizeable sum. The Beastie Boys sued Monster Beverage Corp after the company allegedly used … Continue reading
50 Cent Wins Copyright Lawsuit
Rap star and entrepreneur 50 Cent, AKA Curtis Jackson, has seen his fair share of a courtroom recently. After recently losing a case that caused him to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, he has scored a win that is in … Continue reading
Street Artists File Copyright Lawsuit Against Church
A Miami church is facing a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by eight street artists who donated their talent to paint striking murals at Jose de Diego, a struggling middle school in Wynwood. The donated murals were created by artists from … Continue reading
Spotify Under Fire for Royalties
The music streaming website Spotify is once again facing a copyright lawsuit. This is the second lawsuit in two weeks. Melissa Ferrick, a Massachusetts-based artist, claims that Spotify did not notify her or obtain a license to use her music … Continue reading
Gillette Sues Dollar Shave Club over Patent Infringement
If you’re active on the internet and social media, you have probably seen the ads for Dollar Shave Club. They have print ads and television ads running as well. The premise of the Dollar Shave Club is offering razors and … Continue reading
IP Disputes On the Rise in the UK
The internet has made our lives easier. We’re able to stay connected, research, and find recipes that allow us to cook meals. However, the internet has complicated some aspects of life. The number of court cases filed by small businesses … Continue reading
Music Sampling Lawsuit Involves No. 1 Hit on Billboard
In the world of music, copyrights are important. Those who remember the 90s can recall that there was a large lawsuit between rapper Vanilla Ice and the writers of the song “Under Pressure,” which the rap artist was accused of … Continue reading
Wine and Kombucha Companies Fight over Name
When a company trademarks something such as a name or a logo, they are doing it because it protects their business. In a society where brand recognition is often based on colorful labels and logos and decals, protecting your logo … Continue reading
Larry the Cable Guy Files Suit against Gas Station
Names and logos can be trademarked. So can catch-phrases. One has to be very careful when naming their business or company after an already-existing trademark. Litigation can be the end result in such cases. The company that owns the merchandising … Continue reading
Fan Conventions Fight it out over Name Trademark
Trademark disputes can be tricky things to pursue. Often, whether or not a trademark has been violated can depend on the presence of space or a punctuation mark. Such small minutiae can mean that a trademark has not been violated. … Continue reading
YouTube Fights on Behalf of Content Creators
When it comes to intellectual property law, the Digital Millennium Copy Right Act (DMCA) protects owners of a copyright online and allows them to demand a site take down user generated content that violates a copyright. If they refuse to … Continue reading
Unwired Planet Wins Patent Trial Against Samsung
It stands to reason that a company would want to protect its patents. A patent can mean the difference in producing something groundbreaking and mimicking what others are already producing. Patents can even affect stock markets, sending stock prices soaring … Continue reading
Urban Farmers Lose Trademark Fight
One of the dangers of having a trademark is that it can become generic if you do not police your mark. A simple example of this is Google. To “google” something has become a verb. While Google can protect their … Continue reading
Apple Loses Patent Fight, Must Pay Hundreds of Millions
Patents are invaluable when it comes to protecting your idea or invention from those who would seek to use it for their own gain. A patent marks it as your own, and protects it from being used without your permission. … Continue reading
Pittsburgh Steelers File Cease and Desist to Protect Trademark
When it comes to trademarks and logos, many companies and organizations take it very personally when another uses a version of its logo for their own purposes. The Steelers and the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws are … Continue reading
Know Infringement when you see it
Intellectual property can be confusing to a new business owner. It can be instructive to look at past intellectual property cases and see where and how infringement may have occurred so you can look for similar things in your future … Continue reading
Burning Man and Quizno’s in IP Spat
The line of what constitutes fair use and parody can be a tricky one to find without help. Both parody and fair use protections are built into intellectual property laws, but they must follow certain rules as well. An interesting … Continue reading
The IP Battle of Quinoa
A fascinating story in Harper’s underscores the problems that can arise when natural products native to a region and IP rights start to intersect. You may have seen advertisements for quinoa in your local health food store, but quinoa is … Continue reading
Apple Spat Exposes IP Problems in Creative Industries
Many IP stories in the news revolve around technology and software, but IP fights happen in many creative fields as well. Today, we’re not going to be talking about piracy, but about Taylor Swift and her recent challenge to Apple … Continue reading
Ford Motor Company Sued by Versata for Alleged IP Infringement
One software company in Texas is taking on Ford Motor Company for an alleged IP infringement. The company, Versata, is seeking an injunction to stop Ford from using their software product. The software significantly reduces warranty costs, and brings vehicles … Continue reading
IP Fight over Bitcoin Wallet Technology
Businesses that fight over IP don’t always do it over direct use of the IP. Sometimes the fight is over whether an IP was developed using the resources of one company before it was taken to another for sale. Bitcoin … Continue reading
More IP Troubles for Ford
The Ford Motor Company is also experiencing hot water over another patent infringement case, but they are fighting back hard. A Baltimore company, Paice, sued the automaker over five patents it says were infringed over hybrid engine technology. That case … Continue reading
Supreme Court Rules on Commil vs Cisco
An IP infringement case has worked its way all the way through to the Supreme Court. To understand the case between Commil and Cisco, we need to explain a bit of law. Someone can directly infringe on a patent by … Continue reading
IP Theft Ring Members Plead Guilty in Tech IP Case
Intellectual property theft is a major worry among technology companies. Companies stand to lose massive amounts of money if their information gets out where others can use it. Naturally, the government takes a dim view on people who steal information … Continue reading
Royalty Challenge over Famous Diary
A challenge to the foundation that allocates the royalties from the book, “The Diary of Anne Frank” has been made by both a French lawmaker and a French scholar when they both published separate online editions of the book on … Continue reading
Domain Name and Trademark Dispute
Domain names and trademarks are related, but not the same thing. The rights derived from each are very different. Trademark rights flow from use of a mark for goods or services in interstate commerce or within a state’s boundary. Domain … Continue reading
Reverse Domain Name Hijacking
Many people or organizations create websites strictly to share information, to advertise their non-profit services, to advertise their small craft projects, or to voice their political or religious beliefs. They will agonize over choosing the most appropriate domain name that … Continue reading
Business Continuation Planning for Success
Successful business owners invest a great deal of time and effort in building their companies. With the day-to-day demands, it is often difficult to imagine stepping down for retirement. Yet, in order to help build financial security for retirement and … Continue reading
Timing in the IP World & a Country’s Intellectual Capital
In the United States, the first to invent is the first in right. However, this rule has been modified, so you should talk to our registered patent attorney, Michael L. Greenberg, if you desire more information. Outside of the United … Continue reading