On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Monday, August 17, 2015. Fashion is big business and, with good reason, clothing designers and companies are always looking for ways to protect their designs and collections. So how can a designer or company prevent others from stealing their designs? One way to protect your fashion brand is by utilizing copyright protection. A copyright is automatically fixed upon completion of a work. But by filing for a copyright registration with the US Copyright Office, a fashion designer can gain additional protections and abilities. It is important to note that a copyright won't [...]

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Tuesday, July 21, 2015. Idea theft is a real threat that one often sees in the tech industry. A theft scenario may involve an entrepreneur pitching an idea to a prospective partner, intending to work together to create the next big social network or cellphone app. However, instead of working with you, the person you pitched may 'steal' your idea (without paying you for it) and bring it to another team to develop as their own concept. Of course, if confronted, that person will claim the idea is different or argue the [...]

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 [...]

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 Swift 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 [...]

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Tuesday, April 28, 2015. Celebrity product endorsements can create a number of interesting intellectual property issues. Take, for example, the common image of Bob Marley on T-shirts and other merchandise, many of which are printed without permission of the owners of Bob Marley's likeness - his children. Tired of their father's over-exposure, and wanting to protect their father's image, the children of Bob Marley and their licensee (one company is licensed to use the image and likeness of the famous Rastafarian) have sued various companies for using Mr. Marley's image on clothing [...]

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Intellectual Property on Tuesday, February 17, 2015. There you are, finally rolling the dice and pursuing your culinary aspirations. You are starting your own food truck business. You have your unique concept, you have a potential catchy name and logo, you have a secret sauce that you believe consumers will eat even if it is served on plywood, you bought your food truck, you just launched your website, and you are all over social media. Then it dawns on you that you failed to take any steps to protect your company's intellectual property rights. This [...]