Sometimes a President can’t always do what he wants. But tell that to the owner of the Twitter handle @RealDonaldTrump, who happens to also be the current President of the United States and a new government actor. Mr. Trump has created more controversy by using his personal Twitter handle to send out information relating to […]
Category: Podcast
Compulsory Licenses In The Digital Age
Are Internet streaming services cable systems under Section 111 of the Copyright Act and therefore entitled to retransmit broadcast television under the compulsory license scheme? Under Section 111, cable systems can rebroadcast traditional broadcast television content in exchange for paying a statutory license fee to the Copyright Office at the Library of Congress. After the […]
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 […]
Little Pet Shop, Big Right of Publicity Problem
When Hasbro introduced a hamster named “Harris Faulkner” to its “Littlest Pet Shop” line of animal character toys, it drew a multi-million dollar lawsuit from real-life television journalist Harris Faulkner. The complaint, filed in New Jersey, included claims for violation of the right of publicity under New Jersey common law and false advertising and false […]
The Billion Dollar Copyright
The use of photographs and other digital images on the web can be a tricky business. Copyright owners are increasingly taking steps to police their images by monitoring web content using automated means like web scrapers. Many online content creators have had to learn the hard way about the pitfalls and best practices in the […]
Trademark Lessons From Crazy Horse Strip Clubs
Better known for juicy tales of mobsters, adult film stars, and general shenanigans, the now-closed Las Vegas strip club “Crazy Horse Too” plays a role in providing important lessons in trademark law. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently put to rest a dispute over the “Crazy Horse” trademark for strip clubs in the United […]