IPNews® – A federal judge in California ruled against a monkey in the case filed by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
The case centered on ownership rights over photos taken by a monkey with a nature photographer’s camera. PETA argued the monkey should get proceeds from the sales of a book containing those photos, but the judge ruled that copyright law does not extend to animals. To continue reading, click: Monkey Loses Copyright Case Over Selfie
IPNews® – Presidential candidate Jeb Bush abandoned his trademark application for his “Jeb!” campaign logo. The now abandoned application applied for use of the logo on a variety of merchandise.
Given Bush’s low polling, this may be yet another change by Bush to try to re-invent his campaign. To continue reading, click: Jeb Bush Abandons Trademark Application for “Jeb!”
IPNews® – The trademark battle over the rock band name “The Slants” may open the floodgates of “disparaging” trademarks being federally registered. An appeals court has held that not granting such trademarks federal trademark protection is a first amendment violation.
This ruling is likely to impact the Washington Redskins pending litigation in which the Redskins trademark was canceled as being disparaging to native Americans. To continue reading, click: The Slants win, Ban on Disparaging Trademarks and Washington Redskins Ruling Now in Doubt
IPNews® – Grumpy Cat Ltd. has filed a lawsuit against coffee company Grenade Beverage. Grenade Beverage holds a license to use the Grumpy Cat branding to sell an iced beverage, but there’s a debate over whether its launching of a coffee bean product violates the agreement.
Grumpy Cat brought forth claims of copyright infringement, trademark infringement, cybersquatting, and breach of contract. To continue reading, click: Grumpy Cat Files Trademark Lawsuit Against Coffee Company
IPNews® – A Sequenom patent for a prenatal DNA test was once again ruled invalid, this time by the U.S. Court of Appeals.
The DNA blood test which detects fetal chromosomal abnormalities can be performed as early as 10 weeks into a pregnancy and the test is considered superior to other tests because it is completely noninvasive. The court held that the patent deals with naturally occurring processes, which are not patentable. To continue reading, click: Sequenom Patent on Prenatal DNA Test Remains Invalid
IPNews® – Virtual Gaming Technology recently filed a patent infringement lawsuit against DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fox Sports.
The patented technology allows players to interact in the virtual game while the sporting event is occurring live. This is just one of the latest and many lawsuits against DraftKings and FanDuel. To continue reading, click: More Trouble for DraftKings and FanDuel in the Form of a Patent Lawsuit
IPNews® – Texas A&M recently filed a lawsuit against the Indianapolis Colts over the use of the phrase the “12th Man.”
Texas A&M has held the trademark for the phrase since 1990. The lawsuit was brought after the Colts did not reply to Texas A&M’s requests that the Colts cease use of the trademark. To continue reading, click: Texas A&M Sues Indianapolis Colts Over “12th Man” Trademark
IPNews® – C&A Marketing, the manufacturer of Polaroid’s Cube camera, recently filed a patent infringement lawsuit against GoPro. C&A marketing argues that GoPro’s Hero4 Session camera violates its design patent for cube shaped cameras.
GoPro argues that it holds the design patent in the EU and began working on the product long before C&A was granted a patent. To continue reading, click: Patent Infringement Lawsuit Filed Against GoPro
IPNews® – Donald Trump now owns the trademark rights to the “Make America Great Again” slogan for use in relation to apparel. Mr. Trump had applied for the trademark in relation to apparel, but the application was refused do to a prior application filed by morning DJ Bobby Bones.
In exchange for his rights, Bobby Bones requested a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital which Mr. Trump apparently complied with and thus the rights were assigned. To continue reading, click: Donald Trump Acquires Right to “Make America Great Again” Trademark
IPNews® – Pinterest lost two cases it filed over trademark infringement, one in the United States and one in the United Kingdom.
Both cases focused on the concepts and phrases surrounding the ideas of “pinning.” Judges in both cases claimed that “pinning” and “pins” are too broad of concepts for all related trademarks to belong to any one company. To continue reading, click: Pinterest Loses Trademark Battle