March 2010

Nod to IP Law History: Elisha Gray and the Long Duel for Telephone Patents

March 7th 2010

Some of you may know I enjoy writing about Boston history and architecture on my other blog www.iboston.org. Today is one of the few occasions where both blogs’ topics intersect. On this day back in 1876, Elisha Gray, an inventor from Ohio, filed notice that he had invented the telephone. Unknown to him, Boston’s Alexander […]

Hitler Downfall Meme as Attorney Advertising

March 3rd 2010

The Hitler Downfall meme is everywhere (we’ve already covered copyright issues of the Hitler Downfall video). This weekend, the New York Times even published a primer on making your own version of the scene, in which der Führer’s fury at the collapse of his plans can be translated into the latest pop-culture news. Bob Battle’s Virginia […]

Is INTA Being Twitter-Squatted? That Can’t Be Good.

March 2nd 2010

INTA, the International Trademark Association, is a group of nearly six thousand trademark professionals in 190 countries.  They protect the world’s brands. They’re being Twitter-squatted.  There’s no pretty way to say it. In 2007, someone apparently seized their name as a Twitter handle and posted one five letter word, “srrrr”. This looks like a case […]