The always-fascinating EconTalk podcast had as its guest on January 18 “sneakerhead” Josh Luber of Campless.com, a site dedicated to tracking the secondary market in sneakers. There is a thriving market on Ebay and other sites in sneakers, particularly Nike basketball shoes. Just about every week, Nike releases small production…
Patent services website Patent Yogi produced this video identifying the wildest and most interesting U.S. patents granted in 2015, including a Star Trek-style force field and a car wheel that can pop off and turn into a one-wheeled electric motorcycle.
Going through the Trademark Official Gazette of December 29 was a little disheartening at first. It was the usual mish-mash of made-up words that marketers hope will become famous trademark through the expense of lots of advertising dollars, and I was despairing of finding anything interesting until I came across…
Copyright cases aren’t usually a lotta laughs, but then, they aren’t usually about this: https://www.youtube.com/embed/kTcRRaXV-fg The heirs of Bud Abbot and Lou Costello claim to own the copyright in their famous “Who’s on First?” bit. They undoubtedly own the copyright on two filmed versions of the skit, because Universal…
“If you want to motivate people, don’t talk about death!” So said Rocky the Rhode Island Red in the movie Chicken Run, which these guys apparently missed: This is another Madrid Protocol US registration issued to Frozenbyte, Inc., of Helsinki, Finland. Those Finns must be a fun bunch… What do…
It’s usually interesting when a trademark case makes the news, and the court decision released on Tuesday this week is no exception. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that a provision of the U.S. trademark statute (known as the Lanham Act) is unconstitutional. Specifically, the…
It is generally a good idea to watch for infringing uses of your trademarks, and respond when you find them. Failure to police infringing uses can result in your mark losing its ability to distinguish between providers. In the extreme case, it can become a generic term — that’s what…
For years, the auto industry has used copyright law and anti-hacking provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 to stop hotrodders from hacking into the software that controls modern cars. That is about to change, thanks to exemptions from the DMCA which were approved last week by the…
A lot of what I do in this field involves helping people figure out what they need. “Intellectual property” is a fairly broad topic with a lot of different kinds of rights lumped together in a way that can lead to confusion. I have had people tell me they want…
I think this guy has too many oars in the water: Published for registration under the Madrid Protocol to owner Francesco Cirillo of Berlin, Germany: First, there’s nothing that draws customers like the sound of a screaming toddler or a college student who has stepped out of his safe…