We have covered ICANN’s New gTLD Program at great length on this blog. If you’d like to discuss the new gTLDs and the myriad issues presented by their introduction face-to-face, Foley Hoag is hosting a roundtable luncheon, presented by the International Trademark Association (INTA), on April 4, 2012 from 12:00PM to 2:00PM at our Boston [...]
Monthly Archives: March 2012
Trademark Parody Dispute Puts Fashion Law in the Spotlight
Yesterday the University of Pennsylvania Law School’s Penn Intellectual Property Group (PIPG) held its annual symposium, which this year focused on fashion law. David Nimmer, of copyright treatise fame, delivered the keynote, entitled “Copyright and the Fall Line.” However, despite the light-hearted topic and big-name headliner, the event was probably most notable for the apparent absence [...]
Man Versus Machine: iPhone 4S User Files Class Action Against Apple, Alleges Siri Won’t Do As Told
Frank Fazio, a disgruntled iPhone 4S user from New York, recently filed a federal class action lawsuit against Apple in California, alleging that the Siri feature of the iPhone 4S does not work as advertised. For those of you who still use pay phones, Siri is a virtual assistant that uses voice recognition to answer questions and perform tasks that would otherwise require typing, such as making calls, sending text messages, scheduling meetings, and getting directions. Mr. Fazio alleges that he purchased an iPhone 4S in November 2011 based on representations made by Apple regarding the Siri feature but began noticing problems right away.
The Dark Side of Copyright Enforcement: Magistrate Judge Recommends that Suit against Copyright Owner and its Counsel Be Allowed to Proceed
Boston seems to be the venue for action at the far extremes in copyright enforcement. On the one hand, as discussed in earlier posts, a local jury found an individual, music downloader Joel Tenenbaum, liable for $675,000 in damages (following a much publicized but unsuccessful defense by a Harvard Law School faculty member), and the [...]
Pinterest’s Popularity Soars, But (P)Interesting Copyright Questions Abound
In a world where Facebook isn’t a social network but The Social Network, it’s difficult for a new social networking site to gain traction. Since there’s already someone out there doing it bigger, the alternative has to be better — at least in some respect. Enter Pinterest, the latest social networking site on the block. If you haven’t [...]