Does anyone think that a monkey has standing to bring a copyright infringement lawsuit? In Naruto v. Slater, 888 F.3d 418 (9th Cir. 2018), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said no, but not without carefully considering the issue. Animals have many legal rights based on federal and state laws. Most of those rights are… Continue Reading
Category Archives: IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News
Subscribe to IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News RSS FeedSAS Institute, Inc. v. Iancu Has Affected Cases in Federal Courts in Addition to Those at the PTAB
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Patent LawOn April 24, 2018, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in SAS Institute, Inc. v. Iancu, which held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) arm of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) must issue a final written decision addressing each and every patent claim challenged in an Inter Partes Review (“IPR”)… Continue Reading
The Process: Who Does it Really Belong to?
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Trademark LawA few years ago, before the 76ers returned to playoff glory, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers’ ownership and front office began utilizing the phrase “Trust the Process” to represent their journey back to the top. Finally, after years of absolutely horrendous basketball, which enabled the 76ers to draft stars such as Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons,… Continue Reading
Three-Stripes and the Burden of Irreparable Injury
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Trademark Lawadidas and Skechers are athletic shoe and apparel manufacturers who have a long history of litigation between them arising out of claims that Skechers has repeatedly infringed upon adidas’ trademarks. In Adidas America, Inc. v. Skechers USA, Inc. (decided May 10, 2018), the Ninth Circuit once again had to weigh in on Skechers’ alleged infringement… Continue Reading
New ITC Rules for Patent Infringement Cases: Adding Fuel to the Ultimate Rocket Docket
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Patent LawThe United States International Trade Commission (“ITC”) is a Federal agency that deals with matters involving trade. Among its many responsibilities, the ITC investigates a variety of issues related to trade including investigating and adjudicating cases involving imported products that allegedly infringe intellectual property rights. These infringement investigations, called Section 337 investigations, may include allegations… Continue Reading
USPTO Proposes Change in Claim Construction Standard for PTAB Proceedings Under the AIA
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Patent LawCurrently, the standard for claim construction is different in AIA reviews before the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB) than in proceedings in federal district courts and the International Trade Commission (“ITC”). The USPTO construes claims to have their broadest reasonable interpretation (“BRI”) while district courts and the… Continue Reading
No More Monkey Business: The Ninth Circuit Finds Monkeys Cannot Sue for Copyright Infringement
Posted in Copyright Law, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsThe Ninth Circuit was recently faced with a novel issue: Does a crested macaque, or generally speaking, a monkey, have the right to sue humans, corporations, and companies for damages and injunctive relief arising from claims of copyright infringement? Unless you’re familiar with this case, you’re probably wondering what occurred to give rise to Naruto,… Continue Reading
May the Lawsuit Be With You
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsUnless you have been living under a rock (and not a rock on Tatooine), then you have heard of a little film called Star Wars, things called lightsabers, the Millennium Falcon, and even droids. But do you know how to play Sabbac? For those of you who are not Star Wars aficionados, Sabacc is… Continue Reading
U.S. Supreme Court Rules America Invents Acts Reviews by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board arm of the Patent and Trademark Office are Constitutional
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Patent LawIn a 7-2 opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in OIL STATES ENERGY SERVICES, LLC v. GREENE’S ENERGY GROUP, LLC that inter partes review does not violate Article III or the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution. Thus, the Supreme Court rejected an argument that only federal courts, and not executive branch tribunals or administrative courts… Continue Reading
The DMCA’s Safe Harbor Provision and Policing Repeat Infringers
Posted in Copyright Law, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, PrivacyThe Ninth Circuit recently revisited the issue of the applicability of the safe harbor provision of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) in the case Ventura Content, Ltd., v. Motherless, Inc., et al. (decided March 14, 2018). The issue before the Court was whether the defendants had presented undisputed evidence that they fell within the… Continue Reading
Patent Myths Corrected – Part One
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Patent LawPatent law is a complicated area of law governed by a confusing set of statutes and regulations that are interpreted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and the federal courts. Patents themselves are sometimes almost unintelligible and, if intelligible, may require many hours of reading to understand. It is no wonder that… Continue Reading
How To Protect Your Clients’ IP
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsA business’s intellectual property may be its most valuable asset. Whether it is biotechnology, trade names, business methods, or computer software, intellectual property should be protected to the greatest extent possible in order to maximize the value of the business. This article summarizes the types of intellectual property protection that are available What Is Intellectual… Continue Reading
LegalZoom Allegedly Engages in the Unauthorized Practice of Trademark Law
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Trademark LawAccording to a complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California by California law firm LegalForce RAPC Worldwide, LegalZoom engages in the unauthorized practice of law when its non-attorneys instruct customers on how to register trademarks. The lawsuit names various other defendants, including the Patent and Trademark Office and… Continue Reading
Hall v. Swift: Nothing Original About a Player Hater
Posted in Entertainment Law, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News“Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate Baby I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake Shake it off / Shake it off Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake Baby I’m… Continue Reading
Weintraub Tobin’s IP Law Blog recognized as “Top 100 Legal Blogs” By Feedspot Blog Reader
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsWeintraub Tobin’s Labor & Employment and Intellectual Property Blogs have both been recognized as a “Top 100 Legal Blogs Every Lawyer and Law Student Must Follow” by Feedspot Blog Reader! Feedspot takes into consideration 1,000’s of Law blogs from across the United States and Canada and uses search and social metrics to rank them. Congratulations… Continue Reading
How BREXIT Will Affect Intellectual Property
Posted in Copyright Law, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Legal Info, Patent Law, Trade SecretsAs everyone knows, in June, the United Kingdom passed the BREXIT referendum (driven by British voters), voting to exit the European Union. What affect does BREXIT have on intellectual property rights in the United Kingdom and the European Union? There is a two-year process of negotiation between the UK and the EU, provided for by… Continue Reading
Trademark Assignability Laid Bare
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Trademark LawCrazy Horse was a legendary Native American chief of the Oglala Lakota tribe who lived during the second half of the 1800s. Unfortunately today, his name may be more familiar as a brand for various products, such as motorcycle gear, whiskey, rifles and strip clubs. In Russell Road Food & Beverage, LLC v. Spencer, et… Continue Reading
Fair Use and Youtube – A Creator’s Take
Posted in Cyberspace Law, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Web/Tech6/25/16- At the 7th Annual VidCon in Anaheim, CA , Weintraub Tobin Shareholder Scott M. Hervey and Rian Bosak, Head of Network Operations Full Screen, presented “Fair Use and Youtube- A Creator’s Take” to a standing room only audience of digital media creators and industry professionals. Check out their presentation below: Fair Use and Youtube- A… Continue Reading
New Federal Trade Secret Law Takes Effect!
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News, Legal Info, Trade SecretsSo what is a trade secret? Generally, a trade secret is information that the owner has taken reasonable measures to keep secret, derives independent economic value from not being generally known, and cannot be readily ascertainable by proper means, such as reverse engineering or independent development. Many businesses rely on trade secret protection rather than… Continue Reading
Scott Hervey quoted in International Business Times article
Posted in Copyright Law, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsScott Hervey was quoted in an article in the International Business Times on how Fox’s fair use defense in a copyright infringement lawsuit arising over its use of a famous 9/11 image could change the landscape of copyright enforcement online.
Zombies Have IP Too
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsZombies have become part of our lives. We are fascinated with vampires, but we are obsessed with zombies. Our obsession is best evidenced by the tremendous success of AMC’s television series “The Walking Dead,” about the zombie apocalypse. The show first aired on Halloween night in 2010 and was watched by 5.35 million viewers. It… Continue Reading
Scott Hervey named to Variety’s Legal Impact Report
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsSwooshed Away
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsIt’s with mixed emotions that we wish Matthew Massari farewell. Matt is joining our client Nike’s legal department in Portland, Oregon. A recent story by Bob Shallit tells the story well. Sacramento attorney Matt Massari has just nabbed his "dream job" – with Nike Inc. in Beaverton, Ore. A former football All-American at UC Davis,… Continue Reading
Scott Hervey quoted in Article About Client’s New Clothing Line
Posted in IP Law Blog Lawyers In The NewsScott Hervey was quoted in a news article about his client, artist David Garibaldi, and the launch of his new clothing line. Following up on his quote that he hoped for good sales of David’s product, we are happy to report that initial sales have be far in excess of original expectations. Congratulations to David and his entire team…. Continue Reading
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