2015 - Page 2 of 5 -

Trademark Considerations: Choosing a Business Name

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Trademarks on Thursday, July 16, 2015. You've come up with a brilliant idea. Your family and friends are behind you and you're ready to make it big. But here comes your first potential hurdle: What do you name your new business? Companies creating trademarks (including a business name) often fail to thoroughly research other companies for the same trademark (name, logo, symbol, sound, color used as a distinguishing feature). If you are starting your own business, whether it is a food truck, clothing line, or tech start up, it is important to first make certain [...]

Nicholas D. Myers2021-10-13T16:54:38+00:00July 16th, 2015|

Nevada Increases Business Fees

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Business Formation on Thursday, June 18, 2015. The cost of doing business in Nevada is going up... If you have a place of business in Nevada, or are considering forming a corporation, LLC, or other entity in the state, keep reading... The Nevada Secretary of State is dramatically increasing the annual State Business License fee for corporations from $200 to $500. As of July 1, 2015, the cost for the Annual and Initial Lists is also increasing for all entity types by $25. There is a brief window where certain companies can file before the [...]

Nicholas D. Myers2021-10-13T16:55:07+00:00June 18th, 2015|

Sirius XM Faces a Class Action for Playing Pre-1972 Sound Recordings

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Tuesday, June 16, 2015. Internet radio services continue to offer new lessons with respect to licensing songs for public performance. The latest lesson: Radio services should not simply follow the customs of the industry, because those customs may be contrary to law. Recently, a California district court granted a motion for class certification in a lawsuit against satellite and internet radio service Sirius XM Radio. The lawsuit will now cover anyone with a pre-1972 sound recording that was played on Sirius XM's service on or after August 21, 2009 without authorization. The [...]

Nicholas D. Myers2021-10-13T16:55:23+00:00June 16th, 2015|

Copyrights, Licensing, Music, and Films

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Copyright on Thursday, June 11, 2015. Have you ever listened to film sound tracks and felt that certain portions of the music sounded familiar? You could be right. Studios may recycle film music, but they are required to make payments for the original sound track music. The American Federation of Musicians (AFM), a labor organization representing about 80,000 professional musicians in the United States and Canada, is suing several Hollywood movie studios for recycling film music without making required payments. The AFM seeks to recover damages for breach of contract including payments for the benefit [...]

Nicholas D. Myers2021-10-13T16:55:34+00:00June 11th, 2015|

Licensing Issues Faced by the Music Industry

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Tuesday, June 9, 2015. It is no secret that the music industry has suffered financially from illegal downloads, and many believe music services such as Pandora (an online music streaming service) do not pay songwriters nearly enough. Remember when Taylor Seift pulled her music from Spotify not too long ago? Musicians feelings aside, courts have lately ruled in favor of Pandora. Recently, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), joined by Universal Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, and EMI Music Publishing, appealed a district court's 2013 (finding that the consent [...]

Nicholas D. Myers2021-10-13T16:55:47+00:00June 9th, 2015|

Louis Vuitton’s Checkerboard Pattern Is Not a Valid Trademark

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Trademarks on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Louis Vuitton's Damier checkerboard pattern continues to lack trademark protection. According to the European Union's General Court on April 21, 2015, the design is considered to be too commonplace to be owned by one brand. The EU's decision affirmed a 2011 ruling by the First Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM). According to that decision, the checkerboard pattern was composed of very simple elements and had been commonly used in relation to various goods. Without any features to distinguish it from other [...]

Nicholas D. Myers2021-10-13T16:56:43+00:00June 4th, 2015|

How to Use a Trademark to Protect Your Brand

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Trademarks on Thursday, May 28, 2015. If you have developed a brand of any kind, you'll want to protect it in order to maximize earnings and grow the brand. The most common form of protection is filing a trademark application. A trademark is any unique symbol, word, image or device that distinguishes the goods you have created from those of another seller. Certain trademarks are iconic: the font for the Coca-Cola logo, or the alligator logo on a Lacoste shirt. Consumers have come to associate the white cursive script from the Coca-Cola logo with beverages [...]

Nicholas D. Myers2021-10-13T16:57:21+00:00May 28th, 2015|

What is a Patent Search?

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Patents on Tuesday, May 26, 2015. If you have a brilliant idea for an invention, you'll want to undertake a patent search right away. A patent search can clarify whether your invention is truly new and non-obvious so you don't waste money and time protecting and developing something that has already been invented. The United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO"), which has kept records of all patents since 1790, refers to inventions as "prior art." This implies that something is "state of the art" or "new." Searching government records through the USPTO will allow [...]

Nicholas D. Myers2021-10-13T17:05:19+00:00May 26th, 2015|

Copyright / HBO and Showtime Win Anticipated TRO for Copyright Infringement

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Copyright on Thursday, May 21, 2015. Cable networks HBO and Showtime won a victory for antipiracy efforts on April 30, two days before the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. Anticipating certain websites would stream the fight for free, the fight was priced at $89 to $100 on pay-per-view, the cable companies sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) to enjoin websites from infringing their copyright of the coverage of the fight. Judge Wu granted their request, concluding that the threatened infringement would take away the cablers' right of first transmission and publication of a highly valuable live event, would [...]

Nicholas D. Myers2023-08-16T09:48:35+00:00May 21st, 2015|

Grooveshark Settles and Wipes its Servers of Labels’ Music

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Copyright on Tuesday, May 19, 2015. After several years of litigation, music streaming service Grooveshark will settle with major music labels rather than face hundreds of millions of dollars in statutory damages at trial. The service has agreed to wipe its servers of the record companies' music, and surrender ownership of its web site, apps, and intellectual property. Perhaps due to its unapologetic stance from day one, Grooveshark was unable to transition into a successful, legitimate service. When Universal Music Group sued Grooveshark for copyright infringement four years ago, UMG presented emails from Grooveshark's executives [...]

Nicholas D. Myers2023-08-16T10:06:09+00:00May 19th, 2015|