BLOG

            This week, a Los Angeles jury ruled that Katy Perry’s 2013 hit song “Dark Horse” featuring Juicy J infringes a 2008 Christian rap song. The dispute began in 2014, when Christian rapper, Marcus Gray, known to his audience as Flame, in addition to collaborators Lecrae and John Reilly, filed a lawsuit against Katy Perry, Juicy J, and other collaborators of “Dark Horse” alleging the hit infringed their rap song, “Joyful Noise.” The unanimous decision was handed down on July 29th, after a week-long trial. The jury has yet to decide the amount of damages defendants owe the Christian artists…

Can a New Mexico nonprofit research park corporation prevail in a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple Inc. (“Apple”) for patents originally filed by a Taiwanese ‘Patent Troll’? STC.UNM is a New Mexico nonprofit research park corporation formed, owned, and controlled entirely by the Board of Regents of the University of New Mexico (“UNM”).  UNM is New Mexico’s flagship research institution with over 25,000 students and 1,700 faculty members across Albuquerque, Gallup, Los Alamos, Rio Rancho, Taos, and Los Lunas, New Mexico.  STC.UNM’s intellectual property portfolio includes 1,700 inventions and over 500 United States patents. On July 19, 2019, STC.UNM filed…

Can an inventor patent a UFO-like space craft capable of traveling at extreme speeds across land, water, and air by using an inertial mass reduction device? On April 28, 2016, military inventor and researcher, Salvatore Cezar Pais, filed patent application 15/141,270 for a UFO-like space craft capable of traveling at extreme speeds using an inertial mass reduction device.  Several years later, on December 4, 2018, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the patent for the invention to the United States Secretary of Navy (U.S. Patent No. 10,244,532 B2).  The Patent describes a UFO-like space craft capable of stealthily…

On July 1, 2019, Justice John G. Koeltl from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued the Opinion and Order. In the Opinion and Order, the Court finds that Andy Warhol’s “Prince Series” constitutes fair use and does not infringe Lynn Goldsmith’s copyright over the Goldsmith Prince Photograph. Andy Warhol is one of the most celebrated American artists of the 20th Century. Warhol created works about widely circulated images of celebrities, and everyday items such as Campbell’s soup cans and Brillo pads. Museums and universities across the globe display his works which are viewed…

On June 20, 2019, upscale Canadian yoga-inspired apparel company, Lululemon Athletica, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California alleging federal trademark infringement, federal trademark counterfeiting, and both federal and state unfair completion claims against discount retailer Ross Stores, Inc. and its athletic apparel supplier, Impulse Off Price Apparel (“IOPA”), for importing and selling cheap counterfeit copies of Lululemon’s high-end leggings. As known by many fans and consumers, Lululemon is a leading designer and retailer of high-quality, yoga-inspired athletic apparel.  The Canadian athletic apparel company founded in 1998 develops, manufactures, and sells premium…

Unfortunately for fragrance connoisseurs and veterans such as Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot, founders of the world-famous Le Labo’s Santal 33 fragrance, trademark law does not offer protections against copycats.  Although consumers often “instantly” link the scent to a brand as they would “instantly” link a brand name to a brand, trademark law does not protect scents in the same way as it protects name brands. In 2006, Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot, fragrance connoisseurs and veterans, founded Le Labo in New York.  The founders met while working together for Giorgio Armani’s perfume division.  Since its inception in 2006, the…

On June 7, 1859, inventor Dexter C. Slater patented a device for using “dog-power” to power a wide-range of small machinery (U.S. Patent No. 24,338).  As silly as such an invention may seem in today’s technologically driven world, Mr. Slater’s invention was not unique in its time.  In the 19th century, a period when dogs were not only “man’s best friend”, but also diligent workers, inventors patented devices and methods for using “dog-power” to operate machinery.  Inventions similar to Mr. Slater’s device include Heinrich Feldt’s dog-powered sewing machine and H.M. Childs’ dog-powered butter churn. U.S. Patent No. 24,338 describes a…

Both the state of Georgia and a non-profit corporation, Public.Resource.Org (PRO) have filed writs of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court seeking its decision on whether annotations commissioned and approved by the state may be copyrighted. Stated differently, that is, in the manner in which PRO asserts the issue, these parties seek to figure out whether citizens can have access to the raw materials of our democracy. This case arises out of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA), which was re-codified and annotated in the 1970s. At this time, the Code Revision Commission of the Georgia General Assembly…