Recently, a copyright case years in the making has come back into the news. The heir to the composer of a song called “Taurus,” performed by a band called Spirit, had filed suit against a little-known band called Led Zeppelin over something called “Stairway to Heaven.” In March, a court in California denied Led Zeppelin’s…
To best protect clients, we need to be sure the attorney-client relationship is clear, to avoid any potential problems that could arise during litigation. In most cases, where a client comes to you for advice about a specific matter and then retains you for a particular case, the rules governing attorney-client privilege can be quite straightforward.…
Filing for copyright registration is extremely important for a number of reasons. Most people already know that they cannot sue for infringement until after registration. What they might not realize is that they are not entitled to statutory damages or attorney’s fees for any infringement that occurs prior to registration. This distinction should not be underestimated:…
Recently, a client using a form agreement we had drafted told me that a Big, Important Customer had wanted to make changes to the agreement. It was “just boilerplate” – not financial – so the client made the changes without conferring with counsel. The Customer’s legal department said that they wanted the client, an entertainment service…
A client of mine recently received an email from someone saying that since the 1990s, he had been using the same trademark she’s using now, so she should stop using it. The two trademarks were not exactly the same, but they were very similar, and for related goods and services. However, I wouldn’t recommend my client…
Corporations are designed to protect the individuals who work there from personal liability. Naturally, it’s difficult to hold an individual owner of a corporation liable for the corporation’s acts. Even in cases where plaintiffs are able to obtain a judgment against a corporation, they’re often discouraged from trying to enforce it against the individuals who own…
So you’ve just gotten your U.S. trademark registered. Congratulations! Now there are some things you should know… 1. The trademark needs to be maintained. Between the 9th and 10th year after registering your trademark, and every 10 years thereafter, you must file a combined “Declaration of Use and Application for Renewal.” This might seem like a…
A client called and asked whether to apply for registration of, let’s say, RIVER COTTAGE for hotel services. His company had been using the service mark for over 100 years – but had never enforced their trademark rights. We checked the database of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and found no prior registration…
Facebook’s rules (revised last year, on November 15, 2013) say that you, the Facebook user, own the content that you post. Sounds simple, BUT: the user also grants Facebook permission to use that content anyway that Facebook desires: “you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post…
A lawyer friend from outside the U.S. asked: If an overseas manufacturer had copied a client’s designs, but the client had not registered its copyright in the design before the infringement, could you sue the retailers who sold the infringing goods? Short answer: yes, but you won’t get statutory damages. U.S. copyright law requires copyright…