In the United States, trademark rights generally go to the first to use a mark in commerce as opposed to the first to file a mark with the trademark office. But what does that really mean? A recent trademark dispute case, Nexsan v. EMC, made headlines because it seemed to turn that basic premise on […]
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Social Media & Copyright: Know Your Rights
Every couple of years, we see social media users publishing long posts containing broad declarations of copyright with lots of legalese. We want to shout from the rooftop: STOP! Those posters are not doing anything to preserve their intellectual property rights. They simply spread misinformation about the nature of copyright in the age of social media. But we know that […]
Is That Hashtag A #Trademark?
Hastags – a pound sign followed by a word or series of words with no space between – are ubiquitous on social media. People use them to spark and continue conversation about various topics on social media platforms. But can they be trademarked? #Trademark Applications Increasingly, companies are seeking to protect hashtags as trademarks. In 2015, applicants submitted […]