Greg Kihn is a musician best known for his 1983 hit song, “Jeopardy.” In 2017, he (and his publishing company) filed suit against Bill Graham Archives, LLC, which did business as Wolfgang’s Vault. Wolfgang’s Vault is a website where visitors could, for a fee, access thousands of live musical performances from the 1950s to the 1990s. Mr. Kihn’s complaint alleged violations of federal copyright and anti-bootlegging laws. He sought to bring these claims of a class of other performers similarly situated. Continue Reading Copyright Infringement and Class Certification Issues

In this episode of The Briefing from the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a copyright dispute between a sports psychologist and a Miami Dolphins assistant coach. Continue Reading Miami Dolphins Coach Plays Defense Against Sports Psychologist’s Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

Business owners often ask whether they should protect their intellectual property with a trade secret or a patent. The answer is:  It depends.

What Can Be Protected? 

The first thing to consider is what it is that needs to be protected.  A trade secret protects a business’s confidential and proprietary information.  The information can be a formula, process, or customer list.

A patent protects an invention. The invention can be an article of manufacture, a machine, a process (such as software), or a composition of matter (like a chemical formula). Continue Reading Trade Secret or Patent?