Communications Law
Passing Off Scotch!
I was picking up a bottle of scotch for my brother’s birthday earlier this week and I couldn’t escape comparing Scotch to the Institut National case we discussed. Of course Institut National was a case dealing with champagne and the goodwill in it. In Institut National, the facts describe how French Law provides a definition […]
IP and Frappucinos
After we learned about trademark infringement last week, I came across this case where Starbucks was suing a local coffee shop in India, LOL Cafe, for serving Frappucinos without their consent. Starbucks owns the mark ‘Frappucino’ and argued that LOL Cafe’s “Brownie Chips Frappucino” was dishonest and used to deceive an unwary customer. Per […]
Unfair Dealing, but Fair Use? – Usage of Googled Image in Content Creation
As an anime artist, I had the privilege of animating anime girls when I worked with a musician. He has a YouTube channel and uploads videos of improvised musical themes from video games and anime. Last year, he hit me up with a music file and an illustration. “This look good?” “Sure,” I said. “You […]
Banksy: “Copyright is for Losers”
In his 2005 book, Wall and Piece, Banksy famously wrote that “copyright is for losers,” underpinning his anti-establishment stance. However, despite this claim regarding copyright, Banksy may need to use copyright infringement if he wants to prevent Guess from further using his work without his permission. Recently, Banksy has claimed that Guess has used his designs […]
Week 9 Slides & Video
Slides & video below… Jon
“Use your Illusion” – A lesson in overcoming the potential legal hurdles of proving Joint Authorship in musical collaborations
Have you ever wondered what the legal implications are for a band and its individual members when they decide to split up? How do we know which band members own authorship and performance rights to the songs? The answer may or may not be as straightforward as you initially think. During the creation process a […]
IP Rights and Santa Claus
Hello all! In the spirit of the upcoming season, I wanted to share something I learned recently about copyright in Santa Claus images. It is a popular IP myth that Coca Cola owns/has copyright or trademark over popular images of Santa Claus because of their highly successful 1931 ad campaign. I actually believed this until […]
Murine Metaphysics
Higher life forms are generally regarded as possessing qualities and characteristics that transcend the particular genetic material of which they are composed. A person whose genetic make-up is modified by radiation does not cease to be him or herself. Likewise, the same mouse would exist absent the injection of the oncogene into the fertilized egg […]