Trademarks For Software And Digital Products
The traditional idea of a trademark is a name or design appearing on a label, stuck to a physical product. Think, a red can with the word “Coke” or a blue oval with the word Ford. The customer can see the trademark and the product all at once and make a mental connection. But software,… View Article
Posted on Wednesday, July 28th, 2021
Google v. Oracle – The Supreme Court Holds That Reimplementing Software API Is Fair Use
The Supreme Court decided a software copyright case between Oracle and Google holding that reimplementing some copyrighted software in order to develop interoperable software was fair use. Oracle had purchased the copyright to the Java software, including an application programming interface (“API”) which allows other programs to use the Java software. Java was initially created… View Article
Posted on Thursday, May 13th, 2021
Minnesota Homestead Law Highlights
Practically every homeowner is familiar with the term “homestead” or “homestead exemption.” But the scope and impact of Minnesota’s homestead laws are broader than most people realize. This article highlights several important features of the Minnesota homestead laws which everyone who owns or plans to buy a home in Minnesota should be aware of.[1] The… View Article
Posted on Friday, March 26th, 2021
The NFT Market – Some Issues For Investors
Almost every news outlet in the past week published a story about an artist known as Beeple selling a digital image titled “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” through Christie’s for $69.3 million dollars. The particular image is a jpeg file attached to a Non-Fungible Token, or NFT, which is a unique digital certificate that can… View Article
Posted on Wednesday, March 17th, 2021
CASE Act – Copyright Small Claims Court
Copyright, though acknowledged as an engine of our economy, has had an uneasy existence online. There are more creators and more infringers than ever before. Even outside of the traditional “media” industries like music, film, and publishing, businesses use copyright law to secure their software, advertising materials, and a host of other valuable content. But… View Article
Posted on Saturday, February 13th, 2021
Trademark Modernization Act – New Tools in the Trademark Toolkit
The Trademark Modernization Act (the “TM Act”) was passed in December 2020, and puts in place several changes that should be helpful for businesses that are looking to register their trademarks and enforce their trademark rights. The US Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) will add new rules to implement these changes, but some changes are… View Article
Posted on Thursday, January 28th, 2021
Creating the Meaning of Your Trademark
US Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com BV Recently, the Supreme Court decided a trademark case that asked a very specific question. The answer could have a big impact on businesses trying to protect their brands. In US Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com BV, the Supreme Court had to decide whether a generic word… View Article
Posted on Tuesday, July 28th, 2020
How to Prepare for Mergers & Acquisitions in an Uncertain Economy
How the Right Strategies & Timing for Mergers & Acquisitions in Downturns Can Be the Key to Greater Returns & Success As the economy cycles, uncertainty can alter investment strategies and deals involving mergers and acquisitions (M&A). For example, during economic downturns: The sheer volume of M&A activity usually declines: When comparing the first quarter… View Article
Posted on Monday, June 8th, 2020
ALERT: Website and App Accessibility Lawsuits
My last post on web/app accessibility issues was in 2014. Since then, the issue has surfaced for clients very infrequently. However, the recent holding from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, that Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act required Domino’s Pizza to make its websites and mobile applications accessible to… View Article
Posted on Saturday, February 15th, 2020
Alert – Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Threshold Increase
The HSR Act requires that parties to a merger and acquisition transaction (which includes more than you might think), file with the Federal Trade Commission and US DOJ and deal with a waiting period if the transaction or parties (or both) are above certain thresholds (and does not fall within an exemption). The FTC’s legally… View Article
Posted on Tuesday, February 4th, 2020