The intersection of trademark law and the First Amendment remains one of the most complex battlegrounds in intellectual property. A recent ruling in the dispute between the surf and lifestyle brand Lost International and Lady Gaga provides a critical look at how courts are navigating trademark conflicts involving expressive works in a post-Jack Daniel’s landscape. 

In December, a federal court denied Lost International’s motion for a preliminary injunction, allowing Lady Gaga to continue using the mark “Mayhem” for her 2025 album, worldwide concert tour, and tour merchandise.

Continue Reading Why Lady Gaga Prevailed in the “Mayhem” Trademark Dispute

What happens when an artist terminates a decades-old copyright grant under U.S. law, but the work is still being exploited around the world? In this episode of The Briefing, Weintraub Tobin Partners Scott Hervey and Matt Sugarman break down the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Vetter v. Resnik and what it means for worldwide copyright grants. In this episode, they discuss:

Continue Reading The Briefing: Vetter v. Resnik: When Copyright Termination Goes Global

When a jury says two works are not substantially similar, is that the end of the story? In this episode of The Briefing, Weintraub Tobin partners Scott Hervey and Richard D. Buckley, Jr. break down the Ninth Circuit’s decision arising from the Kat Von D tattoo of an iconic Miles Davis photograph and why it may signal the beginning of the end for the intrinsic test in copyright law.

In this episode, they cover:

Continue Reading The Briefing: Kat Von D, Miles Davis, and the Possible Death of the Intrinsic Test?

California privacy law has entered a new phase. In Part Two of this two-part episode of The Briefing, Weintraub Tobin Partners Scott Hervey and Richard Buckley break down the CCPA’s new requirements for Risk Assessments and Cybersecurity Audits.

In this episode, they cover:

Continue Reading The Briefing: Part Two: CCPA’s New Rules on Risk Assessments and Cybersecurity Audits

California privacy law has entered a new phase. In Part One of this two-part episode of The Briefing, Weintraub Tobin Partners Scott Hervey and Richard Buckley breaks down California’s new CCPA regulations governing Automated Decision making Technology, or ADMT. This episode explains how the amended rules go beyond data collection and sharing to regulate how businesses use algorithms, artificial intelligence, and automated tools to make decisions about people.

In this episode, they cover:

Continue Reading The Briefing: Part One: CCPA’s New Rules on Automated Decision making Technology (ADMT)