Trademark law

Google on Section 92A of New Zealand’s Copyright Law

March 30th 2009

While commenting on New Zealand copyright law, Google makes some interesting facts known about the DMCA. According to an article in New Zealand PCWorld: Google notes that more than half (57%) of the takedown notices it has received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998, were sent by business targeting competitors and over one […]

New Tool Watches for Image and Logo Misuse: Protects Copyrights and Trademarks Online

March 6th 2009

Over the next few weeks UsefulArts.US will be featuring some exciting new tools you can use to protect your online intellectual property.  Anyone can describe the online risks to copyright and trademark holders, but if you read these posts you’ll find some exciting new ways to protect your assets, often with free services. Searching and […]

Webinar: Kellogg’s James Conley on Getting Ahead by Protecting Brand Experience (Trade Dress)

February 23rd 2009

On March 4 (12:30 Eastern, 9:30 Pacific) you can participate in a free live webinar with the Kellogg Business School’s James Conley. Kellogg is arguably America’s top marketing school, and Conley is a clinical professor in technology who speaks and writes about intellectual property law and marketing. You may recall Conley’s Wall Street Journal article […]

Monster Cable’s Trademark Case: Monster Pathetic

January 23rd 2009

Some months back, the Monster Cable company (not to be confused with Monster.com) filed a suit against Monster Mini Golf of Rhode Island. It seems that Monster Cable (not to be confused with Monster Energy Drinks) felt that the public would become catastrophically confused between “stereo cables” and a “chain of glow-in-the-dark wicked-cool mini-golf courses […]

Are Ads for “Fake” Complaint Sites False Advertising?

January 7th 2009

The Consumer Law & Policy Blog describes a case of arguably false advertising, in which a “face lift” firm paid for keywords relevant to people complaining about their trademarked service, but connected them to a site singing its praises. Their apparent intent was to draw those seeking information for detractors to a forum which only […]

ICANN’s gTLD Policy Gets Decimating Negative Responses from Key Stakeholders

January 5th 2009

The sky is falling on ICANN’s ill-considered gTLD policy. I’ve been a skeptic of ICANN due to its incredibly slow response to fixing its own rules enable domain tasting.Also, last year its own domain was hacked, which didn’t increase anyone’s opinion of its chops as the world’s domain authority. I’ve read in disbelief as this […]

Thomson CompuMark Website Shows “Less is More”

December 13th 2008

The core palette of my firm’s new website has changed to white and a medium soft gray. That sounds pretty light. But these soft elements help create a canvas for the site’s accents: the use of stronger photo elements and the introduction of orange as a highlight color. Here’s an example of how an image […]

Godzilla’s IP Team: Nothing Generic About This Monster

December 10th 2008

And speaking of dinosaurs… Apparently, Godzilla isn’t just a monster; he’s the mascot for Japanese intellectual property lawyers! In a very interesting article in Wired, David Kravets describes the extent the legal team at Toho Co. Ltd will go to protect the name ‘Godzilla.’ Toho has gone after Honda, a Napa Valley vineyard who produced […]

Google’s 10-Q Filing Assesses Threats of IP Lawsuits

December 3rd 2008

Each quarter, Google issues a brief summary of the legal threats it faces through its quarterly SEC 10-Q filings. Here’s that part of Google’s 10-Q Filing for September 30, 2008. Note 11. Contingencies Legal Matters Companies have filed trademark infringement and related claims against us over the display of ads in response to user queries […]

Expert Panel Voices Concern that ICANN’s Top Level Domains Policy is a Pending “Trainwreck”

November 25th 2008

I simply didn’t expect this. INTA, The World Intellectual Property Review, and TelNic hosted a webinar to discuss the “revolutionary” landscape ICANN has proposed by opening up top-level domain ownership. There was real dissension against ICANN’s vision, and at best, muted support. You may view the recorded program for free. <Use IE, there seems to be […]