Susan Ross (US)

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NFTs and IP – Your opportunity to comment

On November 23, 2022, the US Patent and Trademark Office and the US Copyright Office issued a request for public comment on the subject of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and intellectual property rights. Comments are due by Monday, January 9, 2023. In addition, the Offices will offer three public roundtables: one panel on NFTs and patents … Continue reading

Copyright Review Board – non-human authors not allowed

By Susan Ross (US) and Cassandra Gizzo (US) on March 16, 2022 Posted in Copyright

On February 14, 2022, the Review Board of the United States Copyright Office (the “Board”) refused copyright registration (for the second time) of a two-dimensional artwork entitled “A Recent Entrance to Paradise.” Although the work was an original work fixed in a tangible medium of expression, the Board found that it could not be registered … Continue reading

Trademarks, Internet sales, and personal jurisdiction

By Susan Ross (US) and Tim Kenny (US) on March 31, 2020 Posted in Trademark

On February 10, 2020, the Seventh Circuit federal appeals court ruled that an Illinois-based seller of dietary supplements could maintain a federal Lanham Act and Illinois state law claims against a California-based competitor that had only an online presence, and no physical presence in Illinois. (Curry v. Revolution Laboratories, LLC, 949 F,3d 385 (7th Cir. … Continue reading

U.S. Copyright Office: New Fees and New Technologies

By Susan Ross (US) on March 12, 2020 Posted in Copyright

If your business discovered that its revenue covered only 70% of its costs, it would be time for a re-examination of operations, both in terms of revenues and costs. The Copyright Office has issued some rule changes affecting both. New Fees According to the U.S. Copyright Office’s notice in the February 19, 2020 Federal Register … Continue reading

Copyright, “fair use,” and educational institutions

By Susan Ross (US) on June 19, 2019 Posted in Copyright

On May 23, 2019, a federal jury unanimously found that the Houston Independent School District willfully infringed 36 of DynaStudy’s copyrighted study guides, and awarded $9.2 million dollars. (DynaStudy, Inc. v. Houston Independent School District, Case No. 4:16-cv-01442 (S.D. Tex. May 23, 2019) (verdict, document #316). As this case illustrates, “educational” use is a very … Continue reading

Supreme Court settles trademark Circuit split

By Susan Ross (US) and Joy Wang (US) on May 23, 2019 Posted in Trademark

On May 20, 2019, the US Supreme Court ruled that a licensor’s rejection of a trademark license in bankruptcy does not terminate the licensee’s right to continue using the licensed mark. Mission Product Holdings Inc. v. Tempnology LLC, 587 US __ (2019). The decision brings trademarks into alignment with how patents and copyrights are already … Continue reading

Venezuela and US trademark owners

By Susan Ross (US) on March 28, 2019 Posted in Trademark

US owners of patents and trademarks who have registered them in Venezuela find themselves in the unusual position of being prohibited by the US government from paying Venezuela any required fees in the Venezuelan cryptocurrency, the Petro. For more information, please read our Legal Update.… Continue reading

Cryptocurrency and trademarks – a lesson in jurisdiction

By Susan Ross (US) and Kathleen Scott (US) on November 6, 2018 Posted in Trademark

On October 22, 2018, a federal trial court in Manhattan granted web services conglomerate Alibaba Group Holding Limited’s request for a preliminary injunction against several defendants that were offering cryptocurrency for sale, under the name “AlibabaCoin.” (Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. v. Alibabacoin Foundation, No. 18-CV-2897 (JPO) (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 22, 2018) Although neither Alibaba nor any … Continue reading

USPTO warns of unauthorized changes to trademark files

By Susan Ross (US) on October 24, 2018 Posted in Trademark

On October 19, 2018, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) posted a general warning on its website that unauthorized changes have been made to “a number” of active trademark applications and registrations. The PTO indicated that the unauthorized changes affect “a small percentage of total applications and registrations.” What can you do? If you … Continue reading

Copyright, cryptocurrency and video games

By Susan Ross (US) on October 16, 2018 Posted in Copyright

Video games, such as Grand Theft Auto®, remain popular around the globe, and two recent matters made headlines on two different aspects of the games: copyright and cryptocurrency. Copyright On August 16, 2018, the federal trial court in Manhattan issued a ruling in a case involving the video game “Grand Theft Auto V” (“GTAV”) and … Continue reading

Public laws, private standards and copyright “fair use”

By Susan Ross (US) on August 1, 2018 Posted in Copyright

On July 17, 2018, the federal appeals court located in Washington, D.C. issued a ruling in a case involving an intersection of copyrighted material (standards) and non-copyrightable material (laws and regulations). The appeals court remanded the matter back to the trial court, to determine under what circumstances a non-profit organization could publish private standards as … Continue reading

Trial Court ruling: game over Team Copyright

By Susan Ross (US) on June 22, 2018 Posted in Copyright

We had previously covered the March 22, 2017 U.S. Supreme Court copyright ruling on designs on cheerleader uniforms. In Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands Inc., a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the two-dimensional designs on cheerleaders uniforms were at least in theory eligible for copyright protection. On August 10, 2017, seven … Continue reading

U.S. Copyright Office proposes new fee schedule – updated

By Susan Ross (US) on June 5, 2018 Posted in Copyright

If your business discovered that its revenue covered only 60% of its costs, it would be time for a re-examination of operations. According to the U.S. Copyright Office’s notice in the May 24, 2018 Federal Register (83 Fed. Reg. 24054), historically, the fees collected by the Copyright Office covered only 60% of its costs. It … Continue reading

New York’s Right of Publicity – Take Two

By Susan Ross (US) on April 19, 2018 Posted in Advertising

We had previously written about a September 1, 2016 ruling from a New York State appeals court relating to New York’s right of publicity and claims brought by celebrities Lindsay Lohan and Karen Gravano against the creator and distributor of the video game “Grand Theft Auto V.” On March 29, 2018, New York’s highest court … Continue reading

Deadline Approaching: Get a DMCA Agent Registration by December 31, 2017

By Susan Ross (US) on November 15, 2017 Posted in Copyright

We wanted to remind our readers that, as of January 1, 2018, all paper designation of “notice and takedown” agents will become invalid. As we have previously written, in order to have a valid “notice and takedown” procedure in the copyright laws (the Digital Millennium Copyright Act), the website owner must designate an agent to … Continue reading

US Copyright Office and electronic signatures

By Susan Ross (US) on June 16, 2017 Posted in Copyright

On May 18, 2017, the US Copyright Office proposed some regulatory changes in its requirement for a handwritten, wet signature in order to a record a document with the Copyright Office. The Copyright Office has proposed permitting electronic signatures in certain circumstances. Background In the US, the Copyright Office receives three types of documents for … Continue reading

Go Team Copyright!

By Susan Ross (US) on April 5, 2017 Posted in Copyright

On March 22, 2017, while millions of viewers were watching U.S. college basketball teams vie for the national championship, the uniforms worn by the cheerleaders became the focus of a U.S. Supreme Court copyright ruling. In Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands Inc., a majority of the Supreme Court ruled that the two-dimensional designs on … Continue reading

Copyrightability of private standards in federal regulations

By Susan Ross (US) on February 22, 2017 Posted in Copyright

On February 2, 2017, a federal trial court judge in Washington, D.C. ruled, in a 55-page opinion, that private standards developing organizations (“SDOs”) do not lose their copyright or trademark protection if a federal regulation adopts their standards. Background This case, American Society for Testing and Materials v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., Case. No. 13-cv-1215 (TSC) (D.D.C. … Continue reading

Package as “Advertising”

By Susan Ross (US) and Robert Rouder (US) on December 6, 2016 Posted in Advertising

On October 17, 2016, a US federal trial court in the District of Columbia ruled that a competitor may pursue a Lanham Act claim for false advertising due to a container of black pepper. Watkins Inc. v. McCormick & Co., Inc., Case No. 1:15-cv-2188 (ESH) (D.D.C. Oct. 17, 2016) (2016 WL 6078250). In ruling on … Continue reading

Copyright Office to Decrease DMCA Agent Registration Fees by 94%

By Susan Ross (US) on November 28, 2016 Posted in Copyright

As of December 1, 2016, the U.S. Copyright Office will decrease the fee to register an agent to receive “takedown” notices under the DMCA from $105 to $6, pursuant to a new regulation. There will be additional changes, and everyone who has previously registered with the Copyright Office will need to update their registration electronically … Continue reading

Better Business Bureau’s New “Native Advertising” Guidance

By Susan Ross (US) on November 3, 2016 Posted in Advertising

On October 25, 2016, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) announced its release of a new section to its Code of Advertising to address The term “native advertising” describes ads where the “design style and functionality of commercial messages mimic related content.” The New Guidance The fundamental point of the new section 39 is that advertisers … Continue reading

The duty to disclose under the Lanham Act and New York law

By Susan Ross (US) on October 24, 2016 Posted in Advertising

On September 2, 2016, the federal trial court in Manhattan issued its opinion in Casper Sleep, Inc. v. Mitcham, relating to a mattress review website and its disclosures. Slip Op., Casper Sleep, Inc. v. Mitcham et al, Case No. 1:2016–cv–03224 (Doc. 26, S.D.N.Y. 2016). The case involved mattressnerd.com, a website owned by Jack Mitcham, that … Continue reading