Intellectual Property

Men at Work Didn’t Do All Their Own Work, Judge Rules

An Australian judge has ruled that the group Men at Work plagiarized the flute riff in the song "Down Under" from a children's song written in 1932.  The ruling means that the Men will have to pay royalties, although the…


NFL Concedes In Who Dat Battle

On Monday, the NFL backed down and said that it would not object to shirts or other gear that were not presented as official Saints or NFL products, even if they use the team colors, the fleur-de-lis or the phrase "Who…



Vatican Declares Papal Copyright

Because of what it referred to as a "great increase of affection and esteem for the person of the Holy Father" in recent years (I assume that's a rhetorical flourish, because I don't recall the public really dumping on John Paul…



Lowering the Bar at Microsoft

As I think I have mentioned before, I occasionally do presentations based on "Lowering the Bar" for law firms, in-house legal departments, bar associations, and/or anybody else who might be interested.  I gave one of these at Microsoft on October…


Tour Companies Battle Over Trademarked Duck Noises

I suppose it was only a matter of time before Ride the Ducks and Bay Quackers ended up in litigation. Both companies operate land-and-water tours using amphibious vehicles of a type known in World War II as DUKWs or "Ducks,"…


California Supreme Court Rules In Taster’s Case

The California Supreme Court has ruled in a case I have been following for some time, namely the dispute between the maker of Taster's Choice coffee and one of its former Tasters over an allegedly unlawful use of the Taster's…


Russian Court Says Band Needs License to Play Its Own Songs

On June 15, a court in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don (not to be confused with the other Rostov, which is not on Don), fined the English band Deep Purple after finding that the band had illegally performed copyrighted songs at a…


Oprah Stole My Poetry, Man Claims In $1 Trillion Lawsuit

In July, Damon Goffe sued Oprah Winfrey, alleging that Winfrey had infringed his copyright in a series of poems.  Goffe demanded 1.2 trillion dollars ($1,200,000,000,000) in damages for what were, presumably, the greatest poems in the universe, poems so good…