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ICANN to Help Trademark Owners Prevent Cybersquatting
In an interview in today’s San Francisco Chronicle (“Rod Beckstrom, CEO of ICANN, talks about new domain names“), the CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers stated that ICANN...
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What is Copyright Infringement?
I recently realized that I have referred to copyright infringement in quite a few posts, but I neglected to define that term. It is time to correct that oversight. Generally, copyright infringement...
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Don’t Use Social Media if You Have Something to Hide
A client sells high-quality collectibles manufactured from authentic sports-related materials (game-used balls, uniforms, arena flooring, stadium seats, etc.). The company ensures that all materials...
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Sometimes You *Shouldn’t* Assign All Rights
I have written, on several occasions, about the importance of assigning copyrights (and other intellectual property rights) when work is done by an independent contractor. (See, e.g., Independent...
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Non-compete Enforced to Protect Trade Secrets
California is well-known for enforcing non-compete provisions only under narrowly-defined circumstances. A recent case in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California...
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Corporate Officer Can Be Personally Liable for Copyright Infringement
In Blue Nile v. Ideal Diamond Solutions, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington held that co-defendant Larry Chasin, founder and an officer of defendant IDS, was personally...
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I’m One of Several Inventors – Who Owns the Patent?
A recently-acquired client is one of three inventors of a device that received a U.S. patent. She asked me whether she can freely license to an LLC owned by two of the inventors the right to...
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Who Owns My Text Messages?
This post is adapted from the answer that I provided to a Quora question, “Who owns our text messages?” To start, I wondered what it means to “own” a text message. Black’s Law Dictionary provides such...
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How Can I Make Sure I Receive My Full Royalty?
Intellectual property license agreements often include a provision by which the licensor is paid a royalty that is calculated as a percentage of the revenue received by the licensee from licensed...
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Chubby Checker Files Ridiculous Trademark Infringement Lawsuit
Singer Chubby Checker (real name Ernest Evans) – famous for The Twist dance craze in the 1960s – and certain corporations that he controls have filed a lawsuit against Hewlett-Packard Company and...
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The First Sale Doctrine: If I Own It, I Can Sell It
Copyright and trademark owners typically like to exercise their legal rights as broadly as possible. There is however, a well-known limit to those rights called the “first sale doctrine“. Actually,...
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Is a Copyright Notice with Multiple Years Legitimate?
We all have seen a typical copyright notice (e.g., “Copyright 2013 Anyhow, Inc.”) countless times. However, every once in a while, someone will see a copyright notice with multiple years (e.g.,...
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Which Open Source License Should We Choose?
Software developers may have decided to provide open source software, but they may not know which open source license to use. This post describes three resources developers can consult to help make...
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Patent Licensee: Have a Track Record if You Want to Succeed
This post is adapted from my answer to a Quora question from a prospective patent licensee. Q. How do I propose a licensing agreement with a patent holder? A. In my experience, the most important thing...
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Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement – Two Sides of the Same Coin
This post compares plagiarism and copyright infringement. It is prompted by a Quora question that I answered several months ago. (See Have your ideas or works ever been plagiarized? What happened?)...
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Negotiating Software Licenses – What Really Counts
This post addresses the most important issues that are raised in negotiating software licenses. I will assume that parties have agreed on pricing. (Otherwise, there is no point negotiating license...
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URS – ICANN Offers Uniform Rapid Suspension against Cybersquatters
I have written several times about ICANN’s longstanding Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). This post discusses a more recent way to thwart some cybersquatters, namely, URS – Uniform...
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How to Perfect an Intellectual Property Security Interest
Copyright Office Document Cover Sheet Last week I explained what a security interest is and how it can be perfected, i.e., made effective against third parties. (See What is a Security Interest, and...
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Fraudulent Takedown Notice Leads to $25,000 Judgment
Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ordered the author of a fraudulent takedown notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to pay more than...
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What is the Origin of the Copyright Symbol (©)?
This post about the origin of the copyright symbol (©) is based on my answer to a Quora question. See Why are the symbols of “©” and “®” used to identify copyrights and registered trademarks? Copyright...
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