Legal News
Did you suffer losses when a counterfeiter copied your designs?
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Monday, January 15, 2018. Every 90s sitcom, especially Seinfeld and Friends, made jokes about buying fake designer clothes and jewelry on street corners. It was enough to make you think that every corner of every major city had a table on it full of fake Prada handbags and Swiss-esque watches. Maybe there were bootleggers on every corner, and maybe there weren't, but when you read about 400 fake Air Jordan sneakers being ceased by the government, it really makes you wonder about the size of the counterfeit merchandise industry. If they had been real Nike shoes, their value would have been over $50,000. That's a lot of money for fake sneakers. Violating intellectual property rights hurts everyone Nike's right to maintaining its intellectual property is the same right that allows you to be paid for something you created. If you are in any way dependent on creating [...]
A clash of beer and intellectual property rights
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Trademarks on Thursday, December 14, 2017. A recent legal step taken by Anheuser-Busch proves that someone in its legal department has a great sense of humor. Normally, when a small business copies a name from a large corporation, it can expect to be slapped with a nasty cease and desist -- "stop, or else!" -- letter from a corporate lawyer. When a small brewery in Minnesota released a new craft beer, the "Dilly Dilly" Mosaic Double IPA, on December 1, it got a response from Anheuser-Busch that had a lot of people laughing. Dilly dilly Most people can say they have enjoyed a Bud Light commercial or two over the years. The medieval style "dilly dilly" ads are no exception. If Modist Brewery got the beer name idea from the commercials, it probably expected to get the standard letter. Instead, a man dressed in [...]
Protecting your business with non-disclosure agreements
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Monday, November 27, 2017. Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are taking a hit in the media with the Harvey Weinstein harassment scandal. The movie executive is accused of using NDAs to keep his staff quiet about his personal behavior, which allegedly includes sexual assault and retaliation against women who refused his advances. However, non-disclosure agreements are essential for businesses, especially high-tech companies and start-ups that need to protect their intellectual property. Essential elements of non-disclosure agreements Don't settle for boilerplate language you may see in generic NDA forms. Instead, drill down on the specifics, and tailor your agreements to your business and the situation at hand. Defining confidential information: Carefully define what is covered by your NDA. Include existing intellectual property and IP that may be developed or disclosed during the period of employment or the contractual relationship. Defining what is not confidential: Defining what is [...]
Is your start-up safe from cybersecurity breaches?
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Friday, November 24, 2017. Do you intend to start a new business venture in 2018? Are you developing a fantastic product with some business associates that you are keeping secret for the time being? What steps are you taking to get your start-up business off on the right foot? If you handle your finances, share documents and store files electronically, you are in danger of getting hacked. Every business -- including your start-up -- is a potential target. In fact, sending emails and storing information on the Cloud has already exposed you to the dangers of cyber-attacks. How to help protect your business from hackers Data security can no longer be just a portion of your business plan; it needs to be your No. 1 priority. What can you do, and where do you start? Urgency: First, understand that hacking is not a [...]
Copyright issues, like nightmares, can keep you up at night
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Copyright on Friday, November 3, 2017. Did you watch your favorite horror movie this Halloween? "It: Chapter One" is the most recently released horror film. Based on a Stephen King novel, It (as it is commonly known) hit the big screens last month to wide success. Some claim it is one of the scariest movies in recent history. Before It came along, another nightmare began brewing. Conjuring up a serious lawsuit A little background: Gerald Brittle is the author of The Demonologist, a book he wrote in the 1980s about real life paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren. Brittle claims that at the time the book was written, the Warrens signed an agreement granting Brittle the exclusive rights to their paranormal case files. This means that his permission would be needed in order to produce films based on those files and on his book. Starting in 2013, film studio Warner [...]
Doubling down in the fast food world
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Trademarks on Monday, September 18, 2017. There is a trademark battle sizzling between two hamburger restaurants. On one side is In-N-Out, a long-standing and popular burger joint based in Newport Beach, California. On the other is the up-and-coming Smashburger company based in Denver, Colorado. The hamburger lawsuit This August, In-N-Out filed a lawsuit against Smashburger for trademark infringement. In-N-Out claims it has been using the trademark phrase DoubleDouble to describe its sandwiches since 1963. In 1966, it trademarked the phrase TripleTriple. In-N-Out also holds state and national trademarks for Double-Double, Triple Triple, and Quad Quad burgers, in addition to trademarks 2 x 2 and 3 x 3. Recently, Smashburger, which was founded in 2007, as been marketing a sandwich featuring two hamburger patties and three cheese slices - thus the name Triple Double. In-N-Out's position is that Smashburger's use of the phrase Triple Double will cause confusion in the marketplace, and that people will [...]
HBO series brings patent trolls into the limelight
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Patents on Thursday, September 7, 2017. For those who thought trolls only exist in children's books, think again. In the intellectual property world, patent trolls are a reality. In the HBO series, Silicon Valley, the viewing audience (and the show's characters) are introduced to Stuart "Stu" Burke, a man who makes his money working as a patent troll. Unfortunately for main character Richard Hendricks, Stu reveals how patent laws can be twisted and abused by threatening Richard with patent infringement. What is a patent troll? Patents are used to keep others from copying or using something you created without your permission, including: Inventions Designs Technological processes, such as apps Patent trolls, formally referred to as Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs) or Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs), don't actually create anything. They purchase patents and enforce them against others. For example, Stu in Silicon Valley purchased an unused and vaguely worded [...]
Monkey’s selfie case is a lesson in copyright law
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Copyright on Friday, August 18, 2017. The story sounds a bit like the beginning of a joke: A photographer goes into the jungle. A monkey grabs his camera and takes a selfie. Who owns the rights to the photo? The funny -- not funny -- thing is that this is no joke. In 2011, freelance photographer David Slater traveled to Indonesia to photograph macaque monkeys. After coaxing some of the monkeys into taking photos of themselves, Slater copyrighted his favorite photo and published it in a book. Why the photographer was sued by PETA The photo of the male macaque monkey named Naruto became an instant success on the internet and, despite Slater's copyright, the photo was widely distributed without giving Slater credit or royalties. To make matters worse, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sued Slater on behalf of the monkey claiming that [...]
OH COSTCO, INFRINGEMENT AGAIN?
By The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Wednesday, August 16, 2017. On August 14, 2017, District Judge Laura Swain, Southern District of New York, issued her Memorandum Opinion and Order ("Order") in the case of Tiffany and Company v. Costco Wholesale Corporation. In her Order, Judge Swain found that Tiffany is "entitled to recover trebled profits of $11.1 million" and "punitive damages of $8.25 million" against Defendant Costco. Judge Swain's Order follows her granting of summary judgment in favor of Tiffany "holding Costco liable for trademark infringement and trademark counterfeiting . . . with respect to engagement rings sold under [Costco] signage the referenced the mark "Tiffany" as a standalone term" in the absence of modifiers such as "setting," "set," or style." The latter modifiers being standard in the industry and for which Tiffany did not initiate claims against Costco if such modifiers were present. This case caught my eye [...]
Small time café sues Starbucks for trademark infringement
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Trademarks on Friday, July 14, 2017. This is not a story about unicorns and rainbows, at least not the kind your children want. This is much more sinister than that. Did you try a limited edition Unicorn Frappuccino from Starbucks in April? If you did, you took a sip of an allegedly illegal drink. The birth of the Unicorn Latte Late last year, a small coffee shop in Brooklyn brewed the perfect drink to suit their health-conscious, hipster clientele. The colorful "Unicorn Latte" is not caffeinated but contains such healthy ingredients as ginger, lemon juice, vanilla, dates and even blue-green algae. Shortly after The End café's pink and blue concoction hit the market, it created a social media frenzy in New York. The company submitted a trademark application in January of this year in order to protect its unique creation. Unfortunately, Starbucks -- the [...]