Blackletter

Today a little bit more lighthearted subject. The USPTO has struck down a company called Adco's attempts to register a trademark for Trump-it, that also featured a series of design marks that included what is clearly the President's iconic hairstyle embedded in the brand mark.  The USPTO essentially said it didn't have permission from President Trump.  They need permission of the person who they're clearly associating with. Not only did they file the mark, they spent money appealing the mark to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and their argument was that it was unconstitutional of the USPTO to deny registration of the marks on grounds of free speech. The USPTO came back saying that Adco had erred in treating federal trademark law as something that limits the universe of marks eligible for the benefit of federal trademark registration, as akin to direct restrictions on speech.

Today we're talking about coronavirus, the worldwide epidemic that has shut down a nation. China, after being on the Chinese New Year for an extended period, had that new year unexpectedly extended with the outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan Province of China. It had a trickle up effect in that a number of factories from Apple, to Toyota, to Honda, to Airbus have all had to shut down as a result of the Chinese government's direction that they can't go to work.  Despite all of that, some good news. There were reports that Toyota, and Foxconn, and some of the other big manufacturers... are reopening amid what has Singapore's government worried about a recession, Germany worried about a recession. Lots of countries and businesses hugely affected by the coronavirus and the inability to get goods out of China, the second largest manufacturing economy in the world that essentially went from what is annually a really slow period, the Chinese New Year when everybody kind of hibernates, straight into coronavirus.

John Whitbeck joins Tom Dunlap to speak about consulting and law in the political campaigning world. Topics discussed include general consulting to a campaign, primary structures, fundraising as a political candidate, complying with finance laws, campaign fundamentals and much more. Grab a cup of coffee and take a listen as we dive in.

https://www.dbllawyers.com/services/litigation/defamation/

Today we're going to talk about Kesha and Dr. Luke.   Kesha, that famous singer who sings the song, the Warrior, was ordered to pay $373,000 to a man named Dr Luke in a defamation lawsuit.

The case was about a text message that Kesha sent to Lady Gaga claiming Dr. Luke had raped Katy Perry and the court found that it was defamatory. Katy Perry had said that she was never raped and therefore that sending that text message was untrue and therefore the court found it was defamatory.

Why is it defamatory per se? Well part of it has to do with the courts finding that Dr Luke is not a public figure and therefore there wasn't a standard of actual malice required. Now, quick, short and slightly shallow dive into the tort of defamation. A lot of people actually get this confused and I get asked a lot about defamation by business people and non business people, particularly as it has to do with online statements. So defamation is essentially a civil tort. Anytime one person makes a statement, whether it's written or oral or even a gesture that falsely debases someone else's character, they've potentially committed the court, the tort of defamation, and that other person who is debased or defamed or injured potentially has a defamation claim. These statements have to be presented as fact and it has to cause injury or damage to the person that the defamation is about. A lot of people get this confused with opinion. It's important to note the difference between opinion and defamation first.

Second part of defamation is intent and that's what is at play here in this. This Kesha/Dr. Luke case.  The statement has to be made with a certain kind of intent, either with the knowledge that at the time the statement was made, you knew it was untrue or you made the statement with what's called a reckless disregard for the truth.  If you are a private citizen and not a public figure, the statement can also be false and it can also be a defamation tort if it was made negligently.

Slander is technically when you make a statement orally, defamatory statement. Libel is technically when you write something down. So if you put it on Facebook, it's libel.  I think in this day and age of social media and internet and viral videos, that slander quickly turns into liable as things get published very quickly.   Something to remember as you're out and about, and as you make statements, publish articles, and write about other people, make sure what you say is true and that it's not done with a reckless disregard for the truth.