Last week, a wild crested macaque named Naruto (but really People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against photographer David John Slater in the Northern District of California. The suit alleges that Slater infringed Naruto’s copyright in the famous “monkey selfies” (taken by Naruto with Slater’s camera). The complaint requests that the Court order Slater to disgorge any profits he has realized from the distribution of the images and establish a trust,… More
Monthly Archives: September 2015
Copyright Strategies for Start-Up Companies
As a leader of a start-up company, you are probably aware of the importance of protecting your company’s innovative products, services and technologies through patent filings. If you are savvy, you are also aware of the importance of having a trademark and branding strategy as well (see our guide entitled “Trademark Strategies for Start-Up Companies”). Most start-up companies overlook copyright issues, however, and this can create problems down the road. … More
Of Slants, Skins and Signs: The Coming First Amendment Showdown
Are we heading for a constitutional showdown over Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act? Will the Supreme Court strike down this prohibition on disparaging marks as an abridgement of First Amendment rights? It is certainly beginning to look like a distinct possibility. Two developments lead me to this conclusion.
Disparaging Marks and Spending Power
The first development arises from two trademark cases that are now on appeal,… More
Marshmallow Justice: 10 Tales of Legal Fluff and Other Stuff
Just about one hundred years ago, Archibald Query of Somerville, Massachusetts invented the first commercial marshmallow cream, which he pedaled door-to-door in Union Square. Around 1917, he sold the recipe for $500 to two candy makers in Lynn who had just returned from World War I, and their company (Durkee-Mower) still makes Marshmallow Fluff today. In 2006, Union Square boosters began celebrating Query’s achievement with the Fluff Festival,… More
Ninth Circuit “Dancing Baby” Copyright Decision: A Quick Read for the Busy Practitioner
Earlier this week, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the Northern District of California’s denial of cross motions for summary judgment in Lenz v. Universal Music. In an opinion by Judge Richard Tallman, the Court held that the defense of fair use must be considered by a copyright owner prior to the filing of a takedown notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). … More
USPTO Pilot Program Offers Relief to Proprietors of “Evolving” Goods and Services
Imagine, for a moment, a successful software company, Agave, that owns the trademark PHOTOCHOPS for a popular image-editing program. Being a diligent trademark owner, Agave registered the trademark PHOTOCHOPS in 2005, right when the original PHOTOCHOPS launched, in connection with “downloadable computer programs for creating and manipulating graphic images on a computer” in International Class 9. Over the years, the PHOTOCHOPS platform slowly shifts from downloadable software to a pure software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform,… More
I Think That I Shall Never See, Trademark Injunctions If Confusion Is Unlikely
In its recent decision in Arborjet, Inc. v. Rainbow Treecare Scientific Advancements, Inc., a case involving claims for breach of contract and trademark infringement, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction based upon the contract claims, but vacated the portion of the order requiring trademark attribution. In an opinion authored by retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter,… More