Decoding IP Blog

The use of photographs and other digital images on the web can be a tricky business. Copyright owners are increasingly taking steps to police their images by monitoring web content using automated means like web scrapers. Many online content creators have had to learn the hard way about the pitfalls and best practices in the […]

Better known for juicy tales of mobsters, adult film stars, and general shenanigans, the now-closed Las Vegas strip club “Crazy Horse Too” plays a role in providing important lessons in trademark law. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently put to rest a dispute over the “Crazy Horse” trademark for strip clubs in the United […]

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political partnership involving 28 European countries. It began after World War II, in large part because many Europeans felt that countries which trade and work closely with each other are less likely to go to war and attempt to invade their partner states. Now, the EU is […]

A couple of months ago we spoke about copyright protection for clothing designs. Now it’s time to talk about shoes and trademarks. Converse, the maker of the ubiquitous Chuck Taylor All Star sneakers, filed lawsuits against thirty shoe manufacturers, importers, and retailers over the last two years alleging trademark infringement of its shoe design. Converse […]

On May 11, 2016, President Obama enacted a new federal trade secret protection law known as the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA). The DTSA makes federal protection against the misappropriation of trade secrets available to private parties. Before the DTSA, private parties who sought to protect their trade secrets from misappropriation were limited […]

It’s political convention time once again and that means more intellectual property drama! This political season has already given us trademark disputes involving cease and desist letters and living person name registrations. Now we have copyright issues – specifically, music copyright issues. Politicians and political parties often choose popular music as the background for their conventions. […]

On June 23, 2016, in a referendum dubbed “Brexit” voters in the United Kingdom (UK) opted to leave the European Union (EU), sending economic and political shockwaves around the globe. Obviously, the actual Brexit process will not be taking place immediately. The UK must first formally notify the EU of its intention to leave the […]

Understanding the New Federal Trade Secret Law On May 11, 2016, President Obama enacted a new federal trade secret protection law as part of an update to the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (EEA). The new trade secret law, known as the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA), makes federal protection against the misappropriation […]

The 2016 presidential contest once again pushed trademark law into the news. A few weeks ago, it was the Democrats. Now it’s the Republicans. Well, sort of. John Oliver’s late-night show aired a segment critical of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. In the segment, Oliver pointed out that the Trump family name was originally “Drumpf” […]

Many software companies, developers, and legal eagles have been watching Oracle’s and Google’s face-off over the question of whether Google’s Android software infringes a copyright Oracle acquired through its purchase of Sun Microsystems. After 6 years of legal wrangling, a jury recently found that Google’s Android system does not infringe Oracle’s copyright in Java code […]