Posts Tagged ‘trademark’
How Brita’s Alleged Patent Ambush Can Wash Away Competition in the Water Filter Field
By: Gustav Gulmert According to the Environmental Working Group, over fifty percent of Americans consider their tap water as unsafe.[1]Instead, people turn to water pitcher filters for their drinking water at home, the gym, and work.[2] Zero Technologies, LLC (“Zero”) and Brita sell high-performance gravity-fed water pitcher filters approved by the NSF Foundation, a standards-setting…
Read MoreUniversal Music Suit: The Future of Generative AI Software in the Music Industry
By: Vincent Alfieri Universal Music Group has recently filed a lawsuit against Anthropic PBC, an Amazon backed startup, alleging that the company’s Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) chatbot infringes on the lyrics from multiple copyrighted songs.[1] Universal’s complaint contains numerous side-by-side comparisons of the chatbot’s generated lyrics and the lyrics from copyrighted works.[2] When directed by a…
Read MoreCareful How You Use Your AI: How the NO FAKES ACT Can Alter the Digital Landscape for Celebrities
By: Hannah Lief The Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2023, also known as the NO FAKES ACT, is a bipartisan proposal that is designed to create a uniform right to publicity, protecting a celebrity’s voice, image, and visual likeliness.[1] It was introduced by four U.S. senators in a draft federal…
Read MoreTrademark Infringement is “In Bloom”
By: Bethanie Ramsey On December 28, 2018, Nirvana, LLC[1](hereinafter “Nirvana”) filed a copyright and trademark claim against Marc Jacobs International (hereinafter “Jacobs”).[2] Nirvana alleges that Jacobs used a smiley face on pieces of his Bootleg Redux Grunge collection that was “virtually identical” to the trademarked smiley face logo used on Nirvana merchandise.[3] In 1991, Kurt Cobain,…
Read MorePresident Trump’s Viral Term “Covfefe” Cannot Be Used as a Trademark, Board Rules
By: Mariam Jaffery In May 2017, a typo in one of President Trump’s Tweets created an immediate viral reaction worldwide.[1] The endless wave of memes led many people to attempt to cash in on the trend, by filing applications to trademark the term.[2] Among these individuals were John E. Gillard, who filed an application to use #COVFEFE…
Read MoreJay-Z Adds to his Legacy by Creating Space for Diversity in Arbitration
By: Monica Carranza The Second Circuit, which encompasses the U.S. Southern District Court of New York (“S.D.N.Y.”), is a popular location for impactful lawsuits.[1] In April 2017, a trademark suit was brought against Brooklyn legend Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter’s brand Roc Nation, LLC (“Roc Nation”) by Iconix Brand Group, Inc., (“Iconix”) the company to which he sold his…
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