In this episode of The Briefing from the IP Law BlogScott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a trademark dispute between the Lord of The Rings Author’s Estate and the Cryptocurrency JRR Token. Continue Reading The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Lord of The Rings Author’s Estate Clings to its Precious Trademark, Blocking JRR Token

In this episode of The Briefing from the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a legal dispute between Miramax and Quentin Tarantino, over his efforts to sell “Pulp Fiction” themed NFT’s. Continue Reading The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Say NFT Again – I Dare You: Miramax Sues Quentin Tarantino Over Plans to Sell “Pulp Fiction” NFT

The IP Law Blog has been tracking the progress of the copyright infringement lawsuit filed against Taylor Swift by Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, the writers of “Playas Gon’ Play” by the girl group 3LW (released in 2001).  (See “Taylor Swift Keeps Fighting the ‘Players’ and the ‘Haters’” and “Hall v. Swift: Nothing Original About a Player Hater”.) Hall and Butler allege that Swift’s lyrics in “Shake It Off” (“Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play / And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate”) infringe on their song (“Playa, they gonna play / And haters, they gonna hate”). Continue Reading Taylor Swift to Face Trial in “Shake it Off” Copyright Infringement Case Filed by Writers of 3LW’s “Playas Gon’ Play”

In this episode of The Briefing from the IP Law BlogScott Hervey and Josh Escovedo provide an update on the legal battle between the Cleveland Guardians Baseball and Roller Derby teams. Continue Reading The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Cleveland Now Has Two Guardians: The Baseball Team and the Roller Derby Team Settle Their Case and Agree to Joint Use

Since the Alice v. CLS Bank and Mayo v. Prometheus decisions, district courts and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has struggled to determine and navigate the boundary between what is and what is not patent-eligible subject matter. The result has been a tangle of intertwined decisions that create an extremely wide and fuzzy boundary. Attorneys are often left to throw up their hands when asked whether a new invention is patentable or whether an existing patent will likely withstand a patent eligibility challenge under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Some would argue that Federal Circuit decisions are currently dependent on which panel of judges hear the case because the present law is so ambiguous and subject to different interpretations. Therefore, the legal community, inventors, investors, corporations, and the public would greatly benefit from the U.S. Supreme Court’s guidance on this issue. Continue Reading Will the Supreme Court Unravel the Patent-Eligibility Tangle?