By: Zachary M. Wadle

The following scenario is common when a business owner attempts to register a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”): The business owner decides upon a seemingly unique business trademark. The business owner conducts a quick internet search for similar trademarks being used in the same industry, and does not find anything. Confident in the uniqueness of the mark, the business owner files for registration of the trademark with the USPTO, pays the required fee, and presumes the application will fly through the registration process with a hitch. A few months later, the business owner receives an “office action” from an Examining Attorney at the USPTO.

Continue Reading Co-existing with Another Trademarked Owner Through a Joint Consent Agreement

By: Matthew G. Massari

In February 2010, a U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of California denied the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit that argues the NCAA and its licensees should compensate former student athletes for the use of their images and likenesses. Subsequent to the judge’s order, eleven former college football and basketball players joined former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon in the litigation. O’Bannon alleges that the NCAA has and continues to enter into agreements that allow the use of his image without compensation paid to him, including a 2007 agreement between the NCAA and Thought Equity Motion, Inc. to offer “classic” college basketball games online. 

Continue Reading College Licensing Front: Former Star Student-Athletes, Recent Court Order Move NCAA Licensing Suit Forward

By: Scott Hervey with summer associate James Brannen

Recently the 9th Circuit heard an appeal involving the network and producers of the TV program “Ghost Hunters” and two individuals who claimed that the network stole their idea. Parapsychologist Larry Montz and publicist Daena Smoller maintain that in 1981 they conceived of and created written materials, including a screenplay, about a new reality television program featuring a team of investigators who use high tech equipment to study and occasionally debunk paranormal activity.

Continue Reading 9th Circuit Case Has Hit TV Series “Ghost Hunters” Out Of The Haunted House And Into The Courthouse.

By: Jeffrey Pietsch

Victor’s Secret, a small store in Kentucky selling adult videos and sex toys, lost another battle in a trademark dilution case brought by Victoria’s Secret. Last month, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an injunction granted by the District Court that concluded that the trademark Victor’s Secret or Victor’s Little Secret disparages and reduces the positive associations of the Victoria’s Secret mark. The Sixth Circuit on review sought to determine whether Victoria’s Secret’s case met the standards of “dilution by tarnishment” as set out in the recently enacted Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006.

Continue Reading Trademark Dilution and Sex: Victor’s Secrets v. Victoria’s Secrets

By: Scott Cameron

Copyright law protects authors and artists who create original works from those who might copy their works. A work may be registered with the United States Copyright Office, but the creator is protected by copyright law even if the work is not registered. As has been said, copyright protection attaches as soon as the pen leaves the page. Thus, copyright law provides a private right of action in federal court against anyone who copies, distributes, or makes derivative works without the permission of the creator of the work. Before the copyright owner can bring a suit for infringement of her copyright, however, the Copyright Act places a requirement that the copyright be registered with the Copyright Office.

Continue Reading What does “Copyright Registration” Mean, And Why Does It Matter?