Scott Hervey, Partner, Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Tobin & Tobin, and Mike Rodenbaugh, Senior Legal Director, Yahoo! Inc. presented "Protecting Brands in the Legally Tangled World of Keyword Advertising" at American Conference Institute’s Corporate Counsel Forum on E-Marketing and Privacy Law on March 19, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. To view the presentation, click below.
California Supreme Court Affirms Broad Immunity for Defamatory Republication on the Internet
By Weintraub Firm on
Posted in Cyberspace Law, Privacy
When can you knowingly republish defamatory statements without risk of liability? When you do so on the Internet.
The California Supreme Court, in Barrett v. Rosenthal (November 2006) 40 Cal.App.4th 33, followed the line of federal cases interpreting the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) to find broad immunity for both Internet service providers and users of an interactive computer service for republishing defamatory statements.
Ninth Circuit Adopts Lawful “Use in Commerce” Requirement for Trade Mark Priority
By Weintraub Firm on
Posted in Trademark Law
In January 2007, the Ninth Circuit adopted the long-standing policy of the Patent Trade Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board that “use in commerce only creates trademark rights when the use is lawful.” This case, CreAgri, Inc. v. USANA Health Sciences, Inc., arose out of competing trademark claims brought by two manufacturers of a dietary supplement.
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The Complexity of Proving Copyright Infringement
By Weintraub Firm on
Posted in Copyright Law
By Scott Hervey
Last year’s Ninth Circuit’s decision in Funky Films, Inc. v. Time Warner Entertainment is a reminder just how complex and complicated it can be proving copyright infringement. Funky Films involved a claim that the award winning Home Box Office mini-series “Six Feet Under” infringed Funky Films’ screenplay “The Funk Parlor.” At issue on appeal was the district’s court conclusion that “The Funk Parlor” and “Six Feet Under” were not substantially similar.
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Will the Real Keith Urban Stand Up: A showdown in Cybersquatting
By Weintraub Firm on
Posted in Cyberspace Law, Trademark Law
By Jeff Pietsch
Last week Keith Urban, the Grammy nominated country singer from Australia, sued Keith Urban, a New Jersey painter, for use of the website www.keithurban.com. The suit filed in federal court alleges that Keith Urban, the painter, is infringing on the singer’s trademark rights by misleading internet users into believing that the website is owned by the singer. The website, which has been owned and registered by the painter since 1999, sells oil paintings through the website. Upon entering the site users see the following: “You have reached the site of Keith Urban. To those who don’t know, oil painting is one of my hobbies.” Users are then directed to a link which displays several paintings. The singer claims this use infringes on the Keith Urban trademark by violating the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, the Federal Trademark Dilution Act, and federal unfair competition laws. This article will examine the claims against the painter under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.
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