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…
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…
Just the other day I was writing (again) about the Case of the Taster's Choice Guy, a former model who posed for a picture in 1986, forgot about it, and sixteen years later happened to see his own face on…
The California Supreme Court is hearing argument today in the case of Russell Christoff, a former model who, in 2002, happened to notice his own face staring back at him from the label of a Taster's Choice jar, and sued…
The TTABlog, which covers actions by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, noted in March that that the TTAB had refused to allow registration of the "Cuffs & Collar" mark used by Chippendales. The TTAB ruled that the mark was…
Again we learn the lesson that suing somebody who's saying something you don't like is guaranteed to get them more publicity (often now called the "Streisand Effect"). This time the teacher is Don Henley, a founding member of The Eagles, who…
Nadya Suleman, also known as the “Octomom” for her amazing ability to give birth to eight offspring at once (or at least in rapid succession), has applied to trademark that nickname, according to reports on April 15. If she ever…
Guess how many similar apps there are. Hint: it’s more than two.
Please do not poke Monsieur Le President.
Lawyers for Taco Bell are accusing rapper 50 Cent of using his trademark-infringement lawsuit against the company for ulterior motives. Cent filed the lawsuit back in July after the company sent out a letter suggesting that it would donate $10,000…