Intellectual Property

Pi Trademarked (Sort Of)

Looks like it's safe to go back to using the symbol for pi on t-shirts, at least for now. Someone whose initials are P.I. managed to get the symbol (followed by a period) registered as a trademark, and where there's…



PTO Rules “Redskins” Trademark Is Derogatory

When used in connection with the sale of pork rinds. Why, is that term used in some other very public way in association with a good or service of which you were thinking? Surely not. The Washington Post reports that the U.S….


Ninth Circuit: The Shape of a Hookah Can’t Be Copyrighted

O'SCANNLAIN, Circuit Judge:     We must decide whether the shape of a hookah water container is entitled to copyright protection. That is (minus the footnote explaining what a "hookah" is) the first paragraph of today's decision by the U.S….


Coders, Know Your Rights

That's the title of a seminar being offered at MIT on Jan. 22, according to this announcement I saw on Twitter. It sounds really interesting, but I also wanted to mention it here because of the awesome graphic (by Libby…


U.S. Patent No. 8,359,664: How to Cover Yourself in Plants

Having trouble hiding from something you'd like to kill? Maybe you've considered covering yourself in plant life. Good idea, assuming you're outdoors. But depending on how you're doing that, you may be infringing. Improbable Research notes that Patent No. 8,359,664,…


An Important Solar Update

Toby McCasker of Vice.com somehow got an interview with Angeles Duran, who as I'm sure you remember is la mujer española que es la propietaria del sol. See "The Woman Who Owns the Sun Is Using Her Powers for Good," Vice.com (October 2013); see also "Sunshine No…


U.S. Pat. No. 35,600: The Plow Cannon

This might be where the term "Yankee ingenuity" came from, although if it was, somebody was being sarcastic: Two New Yorkers invented this and had it patented in 1862. At the time, the battles of First Bull Run and Shiloh…


2013 Ig Nobel Prizes Announced

The 2013 Ig Nobel Prizes were given out last night at Harvard University, and the winners were outstanding as always. At first glance, only a couple of them look relevant to the law, but you never know, and besides any…


U.S. Pat. No. D675886: Snack Chip Eating Utensil

Speaking of patents, I haven't yet gotten around to posting this one, which was tweeted by Prof. Sarah Burstein (@design_law): The inventor claims "the ornamental design for a snack chip eating utensil, as shown and described." The description notes only…