Fan films and fan fiction ordinarily don’t end up being the subject of a federal court lawsuit. Most fan fiction are creative expressions reflecting adoration of a series, film or character and the majority of copyright owners take a permissive view of fan fiction. However, Paramount Pictures, the owner of the Star Trek franchise, which
Holiday Horror Series: Part 1- Could You Patent Christmas?!
The holidays are upon us. Given that everything seems to be protected by intellectual property rights, could someone protect Christmas?
The most likely candidate to try to patent Christmas would be Santa Claus. But (assuming all other issues are addressed), could Santa Claus really patent Christmas? Assuming that Santa Claus invented Christmas, then perhaps he
Supreme Court May Cut Back Laches in Patent Infringement Cases
The United States Supreme Court is considering whether the doctrine of laches will bar a patent infringement claim filed within the Patent Act’s six-year damage limitations period set forth in 35 U.S.C. §286. The case before the Court is SCA Hygiene Products AB v. First Quality Baby Products LLC, 767 F.3d 1339 (Fed. Cir.
Federal Circuit Takes A Common Law Approach to “Abstract Idea” Determinations in Alice Cases
By: Eric Caligiuri
In Amdocs (Israel) Ltd. v. Openet Telecom Inc. et al., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently upheld four software patents against a patent-eligibility challenge, finding that the patents do not claim an “abstract idea.” The patent challenge was under the frame work set out by the U.S.
Website Listing of Tequila Client Work Gets PR Firm a Trademark Shot
Can the owner of renowned tequila brand Patrón prevent a former marketing and PR firm from listing it as a client on its website and discussing the services it provided? Patrón believes it can and has sued its former marketing firm, The Reindeer Group, for trademark infringement in Federal court in Texas.
In 2009 Patrón