August 26, 2014 Copyright / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark

No Copyright Protection in a Monkey ‘Selfie’

The U.S. Copyright Office responded to a somewhat unconventional photograph of a female macaque monkey. The Copyright Office stated that “a photograph taken by a monkey” is not eligible for copyright protection.

In 2011, British photographer David J. Slater spent three days in Indonesia to photograph black macaque monkeys. During the three days, a female macaque snatched Slater’s camera and snapped a few pictures. One picture in particular was a macaque smiling into the camera; thus, the first monkey ‘selfie’ was born.

Slater sold the …

August 22, 2014 Copyright / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark

Declaratory Judgment Entered for Kanye Over Coinye

Kanye West has successfully defended his image, likeness, and brand by obtaining declaratory judgment over alleged copyright infringers.

In January, Kanye West filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York, claiming that the founders of a new cryptocurrency, Coinye West, had “usurped [his] name and likeness for the sole purpose of propping up the perceived ‘value’ of the defendants’ ‘digital coin mine’ and its ‘crypto currency.’” The designers initially attempted to evade the suit by dropping West’s the last name from the currency …

August 16, 2014 Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark

Washington Redskins Claim Trademark Cancellation Unconstitutional

On Thursday, August 14, The Washington Redskins football team filed a complaint in the united states district court for the eastern district of Virginia against the five petitioners who sought the cancellation of their six federal trademark registrations protecting the term “Redskins.” The complaint seeks to have the petitioners’ victory overturned, reinstating the trademarks.

In June, a three judge panel, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cancelled the team’s six federal trademarks protecting their name, “Redskins.” The judges …

August 15, 2014 Copyright / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark

Court Says Kanye West Didn’t Steal Pryor’s “get down”

A California federal court dismissed most of the claims in a copyright infringement lawsuit brought against Kanye West. The court reasoned that an average listener would not recognize the saying “get down” because of the short length of the samples.

While it is well known that West’s big hit “Gold Digger” is buildt around “I Got a Woman” by Ray Charles, the lawsuit claimed it also contains samples of another song written by David Pryor and Thunder & Lightening. Last year two children of Pryor …

August 13, 2014 Copyright / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark

Copyright Conundrum: Photographer Accuses Wikimedia of Monkey Business

British Photographer, David Slater is irate over Wikimedia’s inclusion of his photograph in Wikimedia Commons, an online archive of royalty-free images. Slater submitted a request for its removal but Wikimedia has adamantly refused to take it down, stating that Slater has no claim on the image as he did not take it; a monkey did.

In 2011, Slater traveled to Indonesia with his photography equipment to capture the crested black macaques in their natural habitat. After he left his camera unattended, some of the monkeys …

August 8, 2014 Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark

Taylor Swift Calls ‘Lucky 13’ Infringement Suit Frivolous, But Is It?

Taylor Swift and American Greetings Corporation submitted their answer to a trademark infringement suit commenced by an Orange County-based Blue Sphere Inc. doing business as Lucky 13. In their answer, Swift and American Greetings urged the court to dismiss the allegedly frivolous lawsuit, claiming that the only purpose of the suit is to draw attention to the plaintiff’s brand.

Filed in May, the suit alleged that despite Blue Sphere’s ownership of federally registered ‘Lucky 13’ trademarks, Swift marketed and sold clothing that bears ‘Lucky 13’ …

July 30, 2014 Intellectual Property / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark

Apple Acquisition, Beats, Sued by Bose

In Delaware court on Friday, headphone innovator Bose Corporation filed a complaint against Beats Electronics LLC, claiming a loss of business profits from infringement on five patents related to their noise cancelling technology.

This lawsuit comes just two months after Apple announced its intent to purchase Beats Electronics for $3 billion. Approval of the acquisition is anticipated in September. In addition, Bose has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission against Beats and others for allegedly infringing on the patents of technology Bose …

Cubs Bring Trademark Infringement Suit Over Fake Mascot Billy Cub

The Chicago Cubs filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against five individuals who allegedly have been dressing in a fake mascot costume near Wrigley Field. The complaint claimed that these individuals in their “Billy Cub” outfits not only engaged in “mascot-like activities” but also participated in “unsavory actions.” Like the genuine Cubs mascot Clark the Cub’s costume, the outfit includes Cubs cap and jersey with “Billy Cub” and the number 78 on the back.

The fake mascots solicited tips near the ball park for dancing or …

Seth MacFarlane Sued for Stealing Teddy Bear Idea for the Hit Movie Ted

Bengal Mangle Productions (“Bengal”) filed a copyright infringement suit against Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the 2012 hit comedy Ted. The complaint alleged MacFarlane stole the idea of a foul-mouthed teddy bear living in an adult human world from a similar character named Charlie in Bengal’s 2008 screenplay Acting School Academy.

Bengal described the Charlie character as one that “lives in a human, adult world with all human friends. Charlie has a penchant for drinking, smoking, prostitutes, and is a generally vulgar yet humorous …

Trademark-Bullying Against Bills Fans

Texas A&M, the owner of the “12^th Man” trademark, filed two complaints against four Buffalo Bills fans who infringed on the trademark when they included the term in their website 12thManThunder.com. The fans may not have known, but the Bills have been paying Texas A&M licensing fees to use the term on the Bills Wall of Fame.

The story then became rather emotional than legal when it was known that one of the Bills fans is Charles “Chuckie” Sonntag, a double amputee who had …