Dueling Lawsuits Filed Over Copyright Claim by Mental Spoonbender
Uri Geller’s also trying to bend the law with this one.
Intellectual Property
Andy Griffith’s Suit Against Andy Griffith Dismissed
Last fall I reported on a campaign by Andy Griffith to become the new sheriff of Grant County, Wisconsin. Griffith had formerly been William Harold Fenrick, but changed his name to Andrew (Jackson) Griffith so that he could run for…
Japanese Candidate Says He Will Win By Outliving Opponents
Having just lost in his fourth attempt to become Governor of Tokyo, famous inventor Dr. Yoshiro Nakamatsu was undaunted and said he would run up to 16 more times if necessary. He also said he did not believe age would…
PTO Refuses to Register “Obama Bin Laden” Trademark
Earlier this week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office informed Alexandre Batlle that it would not register the proposed trademark "OBAMA BIN LADEN," which of course conflates the names of presidential candidate "Barack Obama" and non-presidential-candidate "Osama bin Laden." Batlle…
NFL QB Demands Mom Stop Using Him in Campaign Commercials
On October 20th, Saints quarterback Drew Brees (or his agents, anyway) sent his mom a letter demanding that she cease and desist using his name and likeness in a TV commercial. Mina Brees is running for a spot on the…
Court of Appeal Hears Case of The Taster’s Choice Guy’s Face
Yesterday I argued an appeal in California’s Court of Appeal for the Second District, which covers Los Angeles, and I was just getting ready to leave after the argument when they called the next case, Christoff v. Nestle USA. That…
Clown Suit Threatened
Happy the Clown and other Bay Area clowns received threatening letters last week from Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams and Sheppard LLP, a New York firm, telling the clowns to cease and desist from wearing costumes that look too much like characters…
Battle Is Joined Over “Milk Duds” Name
The Hershey Co., which makes the well-known and much-beloved “Milk Duds” candy, has filed a complaint with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office against a California company that Hershey alleges makes a product with a confusingly similar name. The product,…