Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law
Kobe Bryant’s Dream Lives On With New Mamba Cup Trademark
The estate of Late Los Angeles Lakers Icon Kobe Bryant filed paperwork on the 28th of January 2023 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to trademark “Kobe Bryant, Mamba Forever , and Mambacita” for a range of virtual and digital goods including art, clothing, sporting goods, avatars, toys, games, trading cards and […]
USPTO DENIES MEGHAN MARKLE TRADEMARK APPLICATION FOR ‘ARCHETYPES
In 2022 Meghan Markle Publicized her new podcast Archetypes, and announced that the aim of the podcast was to dissect, explore and subvert the labels that try to hold women back. The podcats episodes were aired weekly and the production was essentially a success, as it received a People’s Choice Award . Subsequently, Archewell Audio […]
Antibody patents through a Canadian lens & impact of the US case, Amgen v Sanofi
Antibodies are proteins made by the immune system to neutralize pathogens through binding to unique features of pathogens called “antigens” with exquisite selectivity. This ability to bind specific targets has been harnessed for innumerable biomedical research applications, diagnostic tests including Covid-19 antigen tests, and antibody-based therapies, making antibodies a valuable, powerful biotechnological tool. Oral arguments […]
Zara Files Lawsuit Against Thiliko For Copyright Infringement And Passing Off
Zara and its parent company Inditex are accusing a Los-Angeles based fashion brand of engaging in a serial scheme of copyright infringement, false advertising, unfair competition and deceptive trade in order to mislead consumers about the source and nature of their apparel and accessories . In the complaint they filed at a […]
AI Copyright Act – Proposed EU Law
EU lawmakers have been working on a new legislation for the use of artificial intelligence in Europe for the past two years and they just published a draft. The new act, called the AI Act, will cover any service or product generated by AI, and any company using AI will be required to disclose any […]
Canadian Clothing Retailer Aritzia entangled in Copyright Lawsuit
Aritzia is facing an interesting new copyright infringement lawsuit, the fast growing fashion chain is being accused of “improperly displaying unauthorized and illegal sculptures” in its stores and thereby infringing Tangle Inc’s exclusive rights in the copyright protected designs. Richard X Zawitz, the owner of Tangle Creations says the retailer placed hot pink sculptures identical […]
Copyright in Jazz Improvisation
Hi everyone, Here is a post for the musicians amongst us. In class we discussed the role of copyright and DJ performance usage of copyrighted materials, and how the market incentive for producers of music to want their music played in clubs may be a major factor in why we don’t commonly see copyright claims […]
No Clothing- Centric Trademark Registrations for Vetements, Says TTAB
Hi everyone , i wanted to share this interesting article with you. It’s regarding an appeal made by Vetements, a Zurich based Clothing brand to the Trademark Trial and Appeal board to overturn an earlier refusal to register its name for use on apparel and related “online retail store services ” The appeal’s reason for […]
Nazis™
Throughout our class, I have considered how IP law has and can be used to subjugate certain groups. From women being barred from registering patents to the use of IP to oppress African American and Indigenous groups, minority groups have often been strategically excluded from benefiting from IP laws.[1] Law, IP in particular, has often […]
The State of IP in China
Why is there such robust innovation in China given that the nation is notorious for piracy and intellectual property infringement? In Johanna Blakley’s Ted Talk, Lessons From Fashion’s Free Culture, we learned that the fashion industry thrives under a “free culture” system where copying and imitation are accepted. In the same way, there is a […]