Category Archives: Intellectual Property
Is Your Business Making These Intellectual Property Mistakes?
You are a small business, Your business has nothing to do with intellectual property (IP) at least, not directly. So you may not give a lot of thought about how to protect your intellectual property, or mistakes you might be making with your IP. Businesses often make mistakes with IP, which can end up… Read More »
Former Fresh Prince Star Sues the Maker of ‘Fortnite’ for Profiting Off of His Likeness; Claims Rights to the ‘Carlton Dance’
According to reporting from the Miami Herald, actor Alfonso Ribeiro — formerly a star on the hit sitcom ‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ — has filed lawsuits against the creators of two popular video games: Fortnite and NBA 2K. In his legal claim, Mr. Ribeiro contends that the companies that made these games are… Read More »
Do the Jacksonville Jaguars Own the Rights to ‘Sacksonville’? Former Linebacker Says
Last January, Florida’s own Jacksonville Jaguars made to the AFC Championship game for the first time in 21 years. On the strength of an elite defensive line, the Jaguars were near the very top of the league in sacking the quarterback for the second straight season. This lead to the team adopting the alliterative… Read More »
Costco Appeals Multi-Million Trademark Loss to Tiffany & Co.
Last year, the prominent wholesaler Costco was ordered to pay luxury jewelry maker Tiffany & Co. more than $19 million for trademark infringement. A New York state judge determined that Costco was improperly selling ‘knock off’ Tiffany engagement rings to consumers. The company was ordered to pay: Treble damages on $3.7 million in profits… Read More »
Florida Supreme Court Rules in Favor of SiriusXM in Major Copyright Case
On October 26th, 2017, the Supreme Court of Florida released an extremely important copyright law decision. In the case of Flo & Eddie, Inc., etc. v. Sirius XM Radio, Inc., etc., Florida’s highest court ruled in favor of SiriusXM (the broadcaster), and against Flo & Eddie (the artist and potential copyright holder). The Florida… Read More »
Uber Faces Trademark Lawsuit from Florida Company
Uber Technologies inc., the prominent ridesharing company based in San Francisco, California, was recently sued by Uber Operations LLC, an information technology company based in Tallahassee, Florida. According to the lawsuit, which was filed on August 29th in Northern District of Florida, the ridesharing company infringed on the trademark of the IT company. More… Read More »
New York Mets Accuse Florida Medical Services Company of Trademark Infringement
According to reporting from the New York Post, the New York Mets have filed a trademark complaint against Comprehensive Health Services, a medical services company based in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Last month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) awarded Comprehensive Health Services a trademark for their proprietary software that goes by the name… Read More »
FTC, DOJ Update Their Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property
In January of 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) officially updated their guidelines for licensing of intellectual property. This is the first time these guidelines have been updated since the mid 1990s. Here, our South Florida business law attorneys discuss these updates as well as the… Read More »
Pike & Lustig Opens Miami Office
Pike and Lustig, LLP is proud to announce the opening of its Miami office! The firm’s new office is located at 777 Brickell Avenue, Suite 500 Miami, Florida, 33131.
Paul McCartney Files Proactive Copyright Claim Against Sony/ATV
According to reporting from Rolling Stone, Beatles singer Paul McCartney has filed a federal copyright lawsuit against Sony/ATV in order to proactively confirm his ownership of several Beatles songs, including ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘Yesterday’. McCartney believes that the ownership of theses tracks should revert back to him in the fall of 2018. Sony’s path… Read More »
What is Trademark Dilution?
In order to prevail in a trademark infringement claim, a commercial entity must be able to prove that there was a reasonable likelihood that customer confusion was created by the other party’s use of a similar mark. However, even if there is no reasonable possibility of customer confusion, your company is not necessarily out… Read More »
Supreme Court to Hear Copyright Case
Copyright cases rarely make it all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. However, the Palm Beach Post reports that the nation’s highest court has agreed to hear an appeal in the case of Varsity Brands inc vs Star Athletica. The case, which involves a company’s desire to copyright cheerleading uniforms,… Read More »
Are “Disparaging’ Trademarks Allowed?
The Lanham Act is a federal statute that governs trademarks, service marks and other forms of unfair competition. Section 2(a) of the act forbids the registration of trademarks that are deemed to be ‘disparaging’. While that would seem to answer the question, recently that provision has come under fire for constitutional reasons. Late last… Read More »
Hashtags Can Qualify for Trademark Protection
The Wall Street Journal recently posted a story about how companies are increasingly seeking trademark protection for hashtags. Hashtags are used on the internet, particularly social media, as a method of communication and information sorting. On some sites, such as Twitter, a hashtag is clickable and will sort all messages pertaining to a certain… Read More »
What Qualifies As A Trade Secret?
Trade secrets can include a wide variety of confidential business information. Ranging from scientific formulas and computer codes to marketing plans and pricing strategies, these truly innovative ideas are often among a company’s most valuable assets. The law allows for these ideas to be protected as trade secrets. It gives businesses a real incentive… Read More »
Fashion Designs: How To Protect Your Intellectual Property
Fashion is a multibillion dollar industry in Florida. By some economic estimates, 10 percent of the industry is made up of knock-off products. Many of these knock off fashion products are illegal. Fashion designers work hard creating unique ideas to bring new looks into the industry. It is only right that people are able… Read More »
Franchise Litigation and Florida’s “Little FTC Act”
While we have discussed the basics of franchise law in a prior post, it is important to talk about some of the common issues that cause franchise litigation. Understanding some of these concepts may be the key to prevention of costly litigation or a source of information for pending litigation. In the event that… Read More »
Is Someone Infringing on Your Trademark?
When you started your business, you likely put time and energy into carefully designing your logo and brand. You then went through the process to trademark your brand set out by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) so that no one else could use it or try to copy it. One day,… Read More »
Federal Circuit May Allow Offensive Trademarks
A usually obscure trademark law doctrine has been in the news more and more over the past few months. 15 U.S.C. 1052(a) forbids the federal registration of a trademark, if that mark would disparage or offend certain groups of people. It was this section of the Lanham Act that recently resulted in the cancellation… Read More »
When Exactly Is a Copyright Registered?
A recent court case from California is highlighting a nationwide split in the way that courts deal with the issue of copyright registration. Copyright is an interesting area of the law because there is no need to file a registration to gain a copyright. A copyright arises in a work as soon as it… Read More »
