Apparently, Alfred Hitchcock said that “puns are the highest form of literature.” I couldn’t agree more. The internet is plastered with a wide ranging amount of puns on your favorite merchandise. In fact, many artists make a living by designing works that incorporate some of the best puns. Those artists and creators should take note of a recent ruling out of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) that limits a trademark owner’s rights to their registered, punny trademark.
Read MoreWhile most people were focused on how large their stimulus checks would be, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 had a less newsworthy piece of legislation that provides an additional framework for copyright owners.
Read MoreOn December 22, 2020, Senator Tillis (R-NC) and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property released draft legislation to reform the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Currently titled the Digital Copyright Act of 2021 (DCA) is an attempt to modernize U.S. Copyright law. According to a press release by Senator Tillis, the goals of the DCA are to 1) combat online piracy, 2) improve the exemptions available to users for circumventing technological protection measures, 3) increase attribution protections for authors, and 4) ensure that the copyright system provides sufficient incentives for creators while establishing guidance for Online Service Providers (OSP).
Read MoreContributory trademark infringement is a legal theory that a person/entity can be held responsible for infringement of a trademark, even though they were not the ones who actually infringed on the mark. In terms of e-commerce, we are looking at the platform being held liable for allowing, inducing, or maybe even knowing that trademark infringement was occurring on their site.
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