Jazwares, the company behind Squishmallows (which was acquired by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in 2022), is suing Build-a-Bear over its new Skoosherz plush line for trade dress and copyright infringement. Squishmallows were launched in 2017, exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and have built a cult following of both children and adults. Social media […]

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-woodworking-business-website-stolen-ornament-design-1.7082661 A Regina business is offering a cautionary tale about shopping on discount websites after finding a cheap replica of one of its designs for sale. Sticks and Doodles is a hand-crafted woodworking and ornament store in Regina. A customer informed the owners after finding a Sticks and Doodles design — a grain elevator ornament — […]

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As of February 1, the catalogue of Universal Music Group (UMG) is no longer available on the TikTok platform. UMG is the world’s largest music company and holds the rights to many artists such as Taylor Swift and Drake. In the lead-up of the expiry of the previous licensing agreement, negotiations for a new agreement […]

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Pitched as “Pokemon with guns”, Palworld is the hottest game of the new year. While it has garnered immense commercial success, having sold 5 million copies in just a matter of days, many have accused the developer Pocketpair of going a step further and ripping off the designs of some Pokemon. Take a look at […]

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For anyone who missed this last month….a quirky case of copyright infringement regarding fanfiction writing: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/18/copyright-claim-against-tolkien-estate-backfires-on-lord-of-the-rings-fanfiction-author

In case some folks weren’t aware, Apple has gotten themselves into a patents dispute with a medical tech company named Masimo. The dispute has to do with the watches ability to read blood-oxygen levels, which allegedly belongs to Masimo. While the watches with this feature are still available for purchase in Canada, sales have been […]

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Slides & video from my opening talk into an empty Allard room. Thanks everyone for being so understanding. The class is approximately 50 minutes long.

A federal judge in the United States has dismissed a lawsuit against Aritzia that accused the retailer of copying an artist’s work with hot pink, squiggle-shaped sculptures that appeared in stores in early 2023. Here is the link to the initial lawsuit made by Richard X Zawitz, the owner of Tangle Creations posted by pr1ncess.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday. I couldn’t resist posting this link and photo. https://vancouversun.com/business/local-business/arcteryx-wins-court-injunction-against-adidas-terrex-kitsilano-store-in-trademark-spat With a result that should surprise no one, Arc’teryx has received an injunction against Adidas Terrex. Checkout the photo caption! Confusion indeed! Enjoy the last few days of holidays all!  

It should come as no surprise that rights holders of video games often go after those who modify their games or release fangames. However, I rarely see these lawsuits go beyond a DMCA notice and the other party following said notice. Most of the time, the potentially infringing party complies with the DMCA, and you […]