Legal News
Can you copyright a joke?
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Copyright on Friday, June 16, 2017. Are jokes intellectual property? Can you protect them from being used without your permission? This is a topic of intense interest to joke writers and stand-up comedians -- as well as authors of other types of entertainment fodder. The issue is making its way to the forefront because of a lawsuit regarding late-night monologues that is heading into court later this summer. Copyrightable or non-copyrightable? If you tell a joke you heard a colleague tell at the water cooler, that is clearly a non-copyrightable situation. But it's very different when comedy professionals rely on the jokes they write to advance their careers. There are stories of comedians who swear they were ripped off by other comedians. Joke theft infuriates performers, and yet top names have been accused of stealing: Amy Schumer, Conan O'Brien, Louis CK, Dane Cook, Robin Williams, Carlos [...]
Who Owns ‘Who’s On First?’
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Friday, June 9, 2017. Copyrights created in times past are sometimes challenged using today's laws. This year, the rights to a classic piece of vaudeville will take center stage before the U.S. Supreme Court. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's
Who’s the biggest loser now?
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Wednesday, May 31, 2017. Jillian Michaels is well known for her role as a fitness trainer for the TV show The Biggest Loser. Since her first appearance on the show in 2004, she went on to become a celebrity fitness guru. She is known for her tough but caring style as a trainer on television, but also for the numerous physical fitness DVDs, online videos, books and workout routines she has created. An astute businesswoman, by 2015, Michaels had built a successful fitness business and a highly recognizable brand. But there was a catch to her success: As happens with many great products, copycats tried to steal her intellectual property. Cracking down on copycats Michaels filed a lawsuit against the well-known film product and distribution company Lionsgate. She claimed Lionsgate posted videos of her exercise programs on YouTube without her permission, causing her [...]
Music copyright battle over Prince’s unpublished songs
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Copyright on Monday, May 8, 2017. When Prince died suddenly last year, he left behind a number of unpublished songs. Just days before the one-year anniversary of the famous musician's death, his former sound engineer and mixer, George Ian Boxill, released six songs. Within days, a court in Prince's home state of Minnesota ordered Boxill to unpublish the songs at the request of Prince's estate. A temporary injunction stopped the release of the songs with the exception of the 'Deliverance' single, which is still available for downloading. Boxill claims that he and Prince jointly owned the songs while the estate claims that Prince had sole and exclusive rights to them. On May 3, the parties went back to court to rehash the issues surrounding the temporary restraining order. If Prince's estate wishes to continue to block Boxill from publishing the remaining Deliverance EP songs, [...]
Don’t be afraid to pursue your business ideas, no matter your age
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Business Formation on Wednesday, March 22, 2017. Whether you are just out of college or have many years, jobs or careers behind you, it is never too early or too late to do what you love. Sure, there will be hurdles to jump, challenges to face and bridges to cross, but that is all part of it. As the famous author, Jack Canfield (best known for his Chicken Soup for the Soul books) once said, "Most everything you want is just outside your comfort zone". The good news is that even though something is out of your comfort zone, it doesn't mean it is out of reach. Let's take a look at some young entrepreneurs who didn't let age or experience get in the way of their dreams. The best of the best under age 30 Recently, Forbes magazine released its annual 30 under 30 article, [...]
The Unauthorized Pop-Up Art Exhibit: Artist Discovers Knock-Offs of His Artwork All Around OC
By The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Friday, March 17, 2017. A Southern California artist, Donald Wakefield, was surprised to find unauthorized knock-offs of his art years after he created and gifted his one-of-a-kind granite sculpture to a colleague's son. His original sculpture, "Untitled" (pictured on the far left), was created in 1992. Approximately sixteen (16) years after Wakefield's creation, Wakefield endeavored to investigate whether other unauthorized knock-offs of his work existed. He discovered that knock-offs of his work, and the work of other artists, were displayed throughout Orange County on properties developed by Olen Properties Corporation ("Olen") which is owned by Igor Olenicoff, a Russian billionaire. In total, Wakefield uncovered at least six (6) unauthorized knock-offs of his sculptures on Olen properties. As copyrights are governed by federal law, Wakefield initiated a copyright infringement lawsuit against Olenicoff before the District Court in the Central District of California. During the [...]
Do you know how to protect your fashion designs?
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Thursday, March 9, 2017. Ivanka Trump's clothing and jewelry lines have been pulled from a number of retail stores in recent weeks. Other retailers - including T.J. Maxx and Marshalls - have stopped promoting her brand, choosing instead to mix her products in with other name brands in their stores. Nordstrom blames lagging sales in 2016 as its reason for dropping her designs, denying that the boycott instigated by Grab Your Wallet had anything to do with it. Other big-name retailers are still contemplating similar moves. Ivanka Trump's intellectual property woes This is not the first time Ivanka has faced problems with her fashion designs. Last year, she was sued for allegedly stealing shoe designs from an Italian company, Aquazzura. That litigation has yet to be resolved. Whether you are a new and up-coming clothing designer or have a well-established clothing line, [...]
If Trump can copy a cake, how can I protect my recipes?
On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Wednesday, February 8, 2017. President Trump's inauguration caught the eye of foodies across the country. Eyebrows were raised - not because of the sumptuous appetizers, but because of alleged food plagiarism. Copycat cake gives rise to #CakeGate The cake cut with a sword by President Trump and Vice President Pence at the Salute to Our Armed Services Ball was an exact replica of a cake created for Obama's second inauguration in 2013. The original creator, Duff Goldman, a pastry chef who starred on Food Network, immediately noticed the duplication and started a brief social media storm known as #CakeGate. It was a number of days before a bakery in Washington, D.C., revealed that an exact replica had been ordered just two weeks prior to the ball. A flurry of social media posts gave credit to Goldman, and he ultimately closed CakeGate by posting, [...]
SiriusXM and The Turtles are Not So Happy Together: Royalties Owed for Satellite Radio Use of Pre-1972 Recordings Pending Court Approval
By The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Friday, January 13, 2017. Former members of the 1960s rock group, The Turtles, brought a class action lawsuit against SiriusXM back in 2013 for playing their pre-1972 recordings without their permission. Just as the case was set to go to trial, SiriusXM decided to settle with the band and thousands of recording owners for a whopping $99 million. Pre-1972 recordings are not covered under federal copyright laws, so instead The Turtles went after royalty payments owed under state copyright laws in California, Florida, and New York. Before the suit, digital radio services did not pay recording royalties on older songs even though they do pay songwriting royalties on both new and old songs. SiriusXM has agreed to make two payments. The first is for past unlicensed use of pre-1972 recordings. The satellite radio company will pay a minimum of $25 million and up [...]
Kardashians Dash to Block Blac Chyna from Trademarking Their Name
By The Myers Law Group posted in Trademarks on Friday, December 23, 2016. It is no surprise that the Kardashians are always in the news. This time the companies of Khloe, Kourtney, and Kim have filed an opposition to Blac Chyna's registration for the trademark, Angela Renée Kardashian-her future married name once she marries Rob Kardashian. With Rob and Chyna's on again/off again relationship status the matter could end up being irrelevant, but read on to learn about the current Kardashian debacle. The companies allege that the Kardashian brand will "suffer damage including irreparable injury to their reputation and goodwill" if Blac Chyna were granted the trademark with the Kardashian name because she would be aligning herself and her brand with theirs. It is vital to distinguish that even though she will obtain the Kardashian name upon marriage this does not entitle her to a trademark in the name. The Kardashian name is [...]