Trademark – Page 5 – Generic Fair Use

The force is strong with Star Wars intellectual property

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens on December 18, 2015. It will be the biggest movie of the year. It will also likely be the most infringed copyrighted work of the year (and 2016, too). It will be the seventh official full-length Star Wars movie to be released in theaters since 1977. Though I recently re-watched the prequels and I would prefer to act as if they did not exist. No matter what revisionist history might try to argue.

Since the original movie, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, George Lucas has not been shy about protecting his intellectual property rights. It is practically a running joke that any reference to Star Wars will expose you to a lawsuit from Lucasfilm or Disney. (The Walt Disney Company bought Lucasfilm for $4,000,000,000 in October 2012 and immediately announced plans for a new set of Star Wars movies using the same characters and settings.)

To demonstrate just how sincere the creator of the Star Wars universe is about protecting his creation, his characters, the movies, the settings, the concepts and the ancillary names, brands and logos – the following is a summary of the notable issues relating to Star Wars intellectual property.

Did Panem infringe trademarks or violate publicity rights by using Katniss Everdeen’s image as the “Mockingjay”?

November 24, 2015 / David / Comments Off

Last weekend, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 made over $100 million at the box office. The movie’s success is largely due to the strength of Jennifer Lawrence and the popularity of the books. Enough digital ink has been spilled discussing the movie as a dystopian political outlook for young adult audiences. Instead, here we repurpose the world of Panem as if it adopted the intellectual property laws currently in the United States.

Accordingly, under that hypothetical, what trademark and publicity rights does Katniss Everdeen have? Did the rebels and/or the nation-state of Panem violate or infringe any of these rights by exploiting her image as the “Mockingjay”?

[mild spoilers ahead, proceed with caution if you have not seen the movie]

The TTAB is now openly trolling the Washington Redskins

November 17, 2015 / David / Comments Off

Remember a couple weeks ago when the Washington Redskins submitted a laundry list of registered trademarks that its counsel contended were offensive or disparaging? And remember when that same week the makers of “Nut Sack Double Brown Ale” beer were granted a federal trademark registration over similar objections? You should – I wrote it on the paper.

Now another beer maker has been granted what I will call a questionable trademark registration. One that I am sure would have been listed right at the top of the Washington Redskins’ bad name list. LEFT NUT BREWING COMPANY is now a federally registered trademark. Really. On November 13, 2015, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board reversed the decision of the trademark examining attorney and granted the registration.

I am sure that Daniel Snyder is handling this news with calm, cool reflection. Or whatever the exact opposite of that is.

Twelve Angry Men to determine whether the Indianapolis Colts infringed Texas A&M’s “12th Man” trademark rights

November 13, 2015 / David / Comments Off

On Thursday, November 12, 2015, Texas A&M University filed suit against the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts[1] alleging infringement and dilution of its various “12^th Man” trademark rights. If this sounds familiar or redundant, remember that A&M previously sued the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks for unauthorized use of the same trademarks nearly a decade ago. A&M eventually settled that matter with the Seahawks, with the NFL franchise agreeing to pay a license fee to A&M. The actual terms of that license and settlement were never made public and Seattle continues to use variants of the “12^th Man” name today.

Today in Trademarks: Is “Nut Sack Double Brown Ale” less offensive than “Washington Redskins”?

November 9, 2015 / David / 1 Comment

Last week, counsel for the Washington Redskins submitted a lengthy brief to the Fourth Circuit that, in part, provided a laundry list of other trademarks that have been registered by the USPTO and were implicitly deemed not to be immoral, scandalous, disparaging or otherwise offensive. In a parallel but unrelated matter, the owners of the trademark for NUT SACK DOUBLE BROWN ALE – for a beer flavor, naturally – overcame a challenge to their mark and were granted a federal trademark registration.

These two decisions seem incongruous, but are they really? At the very least, I hope to see an episode of South Park where Cartman wears a Washington Redskins™ jersey while drinking a Nut Sack®-flavored drink.

Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks Made Simple

November 8, 2015 / David / Comments Off

[originally published November 5, 2015 at www.law-dlc.com]

Did you know that the Framers of the United States Constitution solidified the rights to copyrights and patents more than two years before the protection of freedom of speech?[1] It is true. The Constitution, signed on September 17, 1787, included the following specific provision:

Congress shall have the power to … promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.[2]

Is Your Halloween Costume an Infringement?

November 8, 2015 / David / Comments Off

[originally published on October 28, 2015 at www.law-dlc.com]

Halloween is on a Saturday this year. I am anxious to see people of all ages walking around in full costume. What a wonderful time of year. Halloween is fun – and it brings out the creative side in almost everyone. People will be dressed as superheroes, villains, cartoon characters, pop culture icons, scary monsters, and more. But most of these costumes you will see represent characters that were created by someone else.

Is your Halloween costume infringing someone else’s intellectual property rights?

The NFL will complain about your Vines (and GIFs)

November 8, 2015 / David / Comments Off

[originally published on October 13, 2015 at www.law-dlc.com]

As a sports fan, Monday, October 12, 2015 was a strange and turbulent day. USC fired Steve Sarkisian one day after asking him to take an administrative leave of absence (cue the employment lawyers). Steve Spurrier, the head coach of the other USC – South Carolina – suddenly walked away and called it a career in mid-season. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott congratulated the Astros on making the American League Championship Series when they were leading 6-2 in the eighth inning, only for the Royals to score five quick runs and turn me into a blubbering mess of a baseball fan. Someone in the governor’s office forgot about Yogi Berra and “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”

Yet the craziest sports story of the entire day might be something that happened over social media. In the mid-afternoon, the Twitter accounts for Deadspin (@Deadspin) and SB Nation’s GIF-based sub account (@SBNationGIF) were suddenly suspended. The initial reasons were murky, with media reports later suggesting that the National Football League used its influence with Twitter to suspend the accounts. And why? Because the Deadspin account and the SBNationGIF account both routinely posted or re-tweeted Vines and GIFs of highlight plays from NFL games. Which are copyrighted works.

Express Yourself! A Primer on the Types of U.S. Trademarks

November 8, 2015 / David / Comments Off

[originally published on October 12, 2015 at www.law-dlc.com]

Trademarks are everywhere. Everything from a well-known slogan by a shoe company, to a famous organizational logo, to the signature color scheme or uniform of a performer can be considered as a trademark. Trademarks can take many different shapes and forms, each of which may be protected by U.S. law. The key is what can (or should be) protected and what may be enforced as the intellectual property rights of an individual or entity. U.S. trademark law allows for a multitude of ways to express yourself or identify your product to the consuming public. In fact, the law encourages this!

What if Intellectual Property Rights Were Enforced in the World of “The Princess Bride”?

November 8, 2015 / David / Comments Off

[originally published September 25, 2015 on www.law-dlc.com]

Have you ever watched a movie and wondered whether something cool in it could be patented? Many movies, however, are set outside the United States. Some are set in fantasy lands that would not recognize our system of laws. Yet – what if? What if, for example, the mythical country of Florin happened to adopt the laws of the United States as it applies to intellectual property rights? Yes, Florin. The homeland of Buttercup. You know – The Princess Bride. What if the cowardly Prince Humperdinck recognized and enforced patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret concepts as seen in that movie? Inconceivable, you say? But what would that look like and what would be some examples?

[If you have never seen The Princess Bride, kindly stop reading and go watch it. Now. I do not think I can be friends with anyone who does not like this movie.]

I will skip the kissing parts and go right into the action and adventure. Pirates are cool, right? To the land of Florin we go!

Generic Fair Use

... where pop culture meets intellectual property law

Category: Trademark (page 5 of 6)

The force is strong with Star Wars intellectual property

Did Panem infringe trademarks or violate publicity rights by using Katniss Everdeen’s image as the “Mockingjay”?

The TTAB is now openly trolling the Washington Redskins

Twelve Angry Men to determine whether the Indianapolis Colts infringed Texas A&M’s “12th Man” trademark rights

Today in Trademarks: Is “Nut Sack Double Brown Ale” less offensive than “Washington Redskins”?

Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks Made Simple

Is Your Halloween Costume an Infringement?

The NFL will complain about your Vines (and GIFs)

Express Yourself! A Primer on the Types of U.S. Trademarks

What if Intellectual Property Rights Were Enforced in the World of “The Princess Bride”?

Recent Posts

Tags

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta

Archives