Category Archives: Intellectual Property
Likelihood of Confusion in Trademark Law
Trademark law is a complicated field with a variety doctrines and nuances, but the core goal of the law is to prevent consumers from being confused about what company is offering a product or service. That means that in order for a plaintiff to prevail on a trademark infringement claim, they need to show… Read More »
Potential Changes to Attorney’s Fees in Trademark Lawsuits
Each branch of intellectual property has its own statutes and rules, but every so often, decisions in one sphere can bleed over into another. Such a situation might be happening now with regard to a patent law decision that is making ripples in trademark cases. Last year, the United States Supreme Court decided the… Read More »
Why Do We Have Intellectual Property?
Over the past several years, intellectual property (IP) has become a much more fashionable topic to discuss. Copyright and its effects on the internet and the rise in patent trolls have made it into the mainstream media. Even trademark law shows up more and more often, especially around this time of year. The NFL’s… Read More »
Keeping Trademarks Covered: Avoiding Naked Licenses
Trademarks are commonly referred to as “source-identifiers.” They are logos or words that tell consumers where the good or service that they are purchasing comes from. This makes trademark licensing a bit of an unusual problem. After all, if the point of the mark is to tell consumers who makes a product, would it… Read More »
Functionality: The Line between Patents and Trademarks
Each category of intellectual property deals with a specific type of creation. Copyright protects artistic expression. Patents protect useful inventions and discoveries. Trademarks protect logos and other things that convey the source of commercial goods. The legislature specially tailored each of these classes of intellectual property to suit the type of creation that it… Read More »
Place Names and Trademarks
Trademark law, like all intellectual property law, has to be balanced to serve two competing goals. On the one hand, giving companies’ trademarks legal protections helps protect customers by making sure they are buying from the company that they think they are. On the other hand, giving too much power to the protection of… Read More »
The Parody Defense to Trademark Infringement
Finding the boundaries of a piece of intellectual property is always much harder than finding the boundaries of a piece of real property. Real property has fences and walls and markers. Intellectual property only has legal doctrines. One of the places this problem appears most is with the parody defense to trademark infringement. The… Read More »
Understanding Statutory Damages
While some people sue for the principle of having their day in court, many do so because they have been harmed in some way and deserve compensation for that harm. That compensation is known as the damages. Ordinarily, judges or juries award damages based on the actual, quantifiable harms that someone has suffered. However,… Read More »
Cybersquatting and Generic Top-Level Domains
A company’s web presence has become increasingly important over the past decade, and that trend shows no sign of letting up. In order to help businesses advertise their services more effectively online, the organization that controls internet traffic, ICANN, is beginning to release new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs). gTLDs are the end portion of… Read More »
What Copyright Protects
Copyrights, patents and trademarks are each valuable parts of an intellectual property portfolio, but people often find it difficult to keep straight which intellectual property is protected by which set of rules. Each branch of intellectual property is designed for a very specific type of protection, and conflating them can often cause problems. Take,… Read More »
Trademark Registration and its Effect on Litigation
A strong trademark can be a powerful tool for a company looking to expand its market share and build strong ties to its consumers. Trademarks allow consumers to instantly recognize a company and remember all the good, or bad, things they know about the company. From time to time, keeping a trademark strong may… Read More »
Nike Opposes Local Business’ Trademark Rights
A legal action filed by athletics giant Nike against local Florida business Crossfit CityPlace, a Pike & Lustig, LLP client, alleges that the small business has attempted to register a trademark that is too similar to one of Nike’s marks. The trademarks in question are Nike’s “jumpman” logo, a silhouette depiction of a slam-dunking Michael Jordan,… Read More »
Understanding Fair Use in Copyright Law
One of the most commonly discussed pieces of copyright law is the doctrine of fair use. It is also one of the most complex pieces. This doctrine acts as a powerful limitation on the rights of copyright holders because it undercuts their monopoly on their works. Ordinarily, only a person who holds a copyright… Read More »
