IP Goes Pop

When popular television, movie, or comic book characters are recast into three-dimensional, bendable, transformable toys, what intellectual property considerations go into their design? In this episode the panel on IP Goes Pop! takes apart iconic action figures, past and present, to explore the patents, design patents, licensing, and other intellectual property surrounding these valued toys and collectibles.

Join Volpe Koenig Shareholders and co-hosts Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue, along with fellow Volpe Koenig Shareholder Randy Huis, as they explore the evolution of celebrated action figures and the intellectual property behind them. From the technological innovations involved in G.I. Joe's "Kung Fu Grip", to the Transformers action figures' unique ability to change from robot to animal to vehicle etc., each new wave of toys and characters brings with them new IP challenges and opportunities. But remember to keep them in the original packaging!

For full show notes please visit www.vklaw.com/newsroom-podcasts.

You can also connect with us on Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter and Instagram using the handle @volpeandkoenig.

This week IP Goes Pop! carries a torch for IP at the Olympics. Join co-hosts and Volpe Koenig shareholders, Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue for a relay through the intellectual property involved in putting on a global athletic competition that turns its top competitors into household names.

In this episode, Michael and Joe dive into the trademarked words, phrases and logos owned by the International, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committees and the rights surrounding them. They look at the long tradition the Olympics has in driving technological innovation and the way athletes' images can be used before, during, and after the games.

For full show notes please visit www.vklaw.com/newsroom-podcasts.

You can also connect with us on Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter and Instagram using the handle @volpeandkoenig.

This week on IP Goes Pop! fellow Volpe Koenig Shareholder Ryan O'Donnell joins co-hosts Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue to explore the technical world of the TV show Silicon Valley, the intellectual property (IP) challenges faced by fictional compression algorithm company Pied Piper, and how realistic those challenges are to those of real world tech start-ups.

Michael, Joe, and Ryan consider "what they could have done" in connection with the IP tropes presented through some of the IP-heavy Silicon Valley episodes. They compare and contrast what happens in the show with the way real-world start-ups approach similar scenarios. From patent clearance and licensing, to trademarks, to copyrights, to identifying the different legal entities involved in possible IP disputes, this podcast episode underscores how important it is to know your IP rights from the start of any venture.

For full show notes please visit www.vklaw.com/newsroom-podcasts.

You can also connect with us on Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter and Instagram using the handle @volpeandkoenig.

This week on IP Goes Pop! Volpe Koenig attorney and Ph.D. Douglas Bucklin joins co-hosts and shareholders Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue to travel back in time, and somehow also to the future, to explore intellectual property interests in the area of genetic engineering.

In this episode, Michael, Joe, and Doug discuss, among other pop culture icons, the Jurassic Park movies and how the genetic engineering in those movies relates to science and intellectual property in the real world. They also explore the current status and methodologies of genetic engineering, how intellectual property laws consider DNA, and how close science may be to bringing back the dinosaurs…

For full show notes please visit www.vklaw.com/newsroom-podcasts

You can also connect with us on Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter and Instagram using the handle @volpeandkoenig.

What is an NFT (Non-Fungible Token)? How are they created? Why would you collect digital files that anyone can obtain or view for free? This week on IP Goes Pop! fellow Volpe Koenig Shareholder Joseph Gushue returns to the podcast and joins Michael Snyder to talk about the ABCs of NFTs.

Michael and Joe break down some of the technical jargon behind NFTs and the basics of the blockchain, as they explore the current trends and future prospects of this technology and how it could impact the pop culture world.

For full show notes please visit www.vklaw.com/newsroom-podcasts

You can also connect with us on Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter and Instagram using the handle @volpeandkoenig.

Fellow Volpe Koenig Shareholder Wesley McMichael joins Michael Snyder to talk about inventors Thomas Edison's and Nikola Tesla's "battle of currents".

Michael and Wes have an electric conversation about the race to light up the country and the patents that both paved the way for providing power. They explore the difference between the direct current (DC), championed, sometimes to a shocking extreme, by Edison, and alternating current (AC) advocated for by Tesla.

For full show notes and to learn more please visit vklaw.com.

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Fellow Volpe Koenig Shareholder Robert Leonard joins host Michael Snyder to talk about artist's rights, and attempts by musicians to regain rights to their original recordings.

From Taylor Swift to Prince, IP Goes Pop! looks at what's at stake when giving up rights to master recordings. In this episode, Michael and Robert explore how musicians try to "take back the music" and discuss how different artists navigated disputes over their intellectual property, and how the internet coupled with the likes of TikTok may be turning the industry on its flip-side.

What happens when someone believes a movie is based on their original idea? What sets one Zombie film apart from another? In this episode of IP Goes Pop! intellectual property attorney and host, Michael Snyder, is joined by his fellow shareholder at Volpe Koenig, Joseph Gushue, for a trip to a Hollywood writer's room.

Michael and Joe explore the intellectual property issues surrounding the stories that make it to the silver screen, and who really created them.

For show notes and to learn more please visit vklaw.com, you can also connect with us on Twitter and Instagram using the handle @volpeandkoenig.

In this episode, Volpe Koenig Shareholder Michael Snyder explores what happens when real-world intellectual property makes its way into the virtual (video game) world.

Michael looks at the outcomes of two separate cases involving famous major video game franchises, and how their use of real-world images ended up in court

For show notes and to learn more please visit vklaw.com, you can also connect with us on Twitter and Instagram using the handle @volpeandkoenig.

This week IP Goes Pop!® makes patents fun (or at least tries)! Volpe Koenig Shareholder and IP Goes Pop!® guest Randy Huis is back to explore the world of toy patents with host Michael Snyder.

In this episode we invite you to journey back to a time before computer screens, to play along and see if you can guess the famous toys behind some obscure patent descriptions and titles. What is a "Whirligig"? Did you play with one as a kid, or even now? Find out on this week's episode.

To see the patent models discussed in the show please visit vklaw.com.

You can also connect with us on Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter and Instagram using the handle @volpeandkoenig.