Category: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

Another Illegal Downloading (a.k.a. Copyright Troll) Lawsuit Shattered By Judge

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Internet Lawyer
illegal downloading
Four porn studios who sued unknown or anonymous John Doe defendants for copyright infringement recently saw their case suffer a serious setback. New York Magistrate Judge Gary R. Brown found the studios to be engaged in abusive litigation tactics. Brown severely limited their discovery requests for detailed personal subscriber identifying information from Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Brown also found the studios had improperly joined defendants in an effort to avoid the costs of filing individual lawsuits. He ordered that all but one John Doe be dismissed from each case. One studio’s entire case was dismissed when it admitted that it did not own a copyright on the downloaded films. It Started Like Nearly Every Other Copyright Troll Lawsuit The plaintiffs claimed their copyrights were infringed when the John Does downloaded the studios’ copyrighted films using BitTorrent technology. The studios sought ...
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Gov’t Seized Website Dajaz1.com Without Evidence

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Internet Lawyer
domain seizure legalities
Court documents show that the US government held the popular website Dajaz1.com for more than 13 months. This is in spite of no evidence of wrongdoing or copyright infringement. The federal authorities have recently released documents that relate to the government seizure of hip-hop site Dajaz1.com. The documents shed light on the issue and show that the website’s seizure was actually extended for several months because the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was unable to provide information about the alleged copyright infringements. There have been no charges brought against Dajaz1.com, and the website has just recently been allowed to return to the Internet. The documents regarding the case have just been released. They were held secretly for more than six months, but the documents were released after a number of public interest agencies requested the papers. Several firms requested ...
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UK Makes Move In An Attempt To Stop Online Piracy

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Internet Lawyer
online piracy
Officials in the United Kingdom have made a bold move in the Internet copyright infringement and online piracy battle; they’ve ordered broadband providers to block infamous torrent search engine, The Pirate Bay. But many feel the High Court’s decision will do little, if anything, to thwart pirates’ online piracy plans. What Is The Pirate Bay? Why Do Officials Consider It Such An Online Piracy Threat Nearly every article about online copyright infringement law mentions ubiquitous torrent site, The Pirate Bay.  One of the most well-trafficked websites in the world, The Pirate Bay consistently ranks in Alexa’s top 100 worldwide. Now you may be wondering, “well, if it’s a known site for online piracy, why can’t governments shut them down easily?” The legal crux is in the nature of the website itself. You see, The Pirate Bay does not host any ...
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Congress Passed CISPA. But Will It Become Law?

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Internet Lawyer
CISPA
Yesterday, in a 248-168 vote, Congress passed H.R. 3523, the little talked-about Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (a.k.a., CISPA, a.k.a. the Rogers-Rupperberger  Cybersecurity law). At first compared to SOPA and PIPA, CISPA includes an intellectual property component.  Proponents of the act, however, insist its purpose is to eradicate information sharing road-blocks between social networking platforms and Internet service providers. If passed by the Senate and signed into law by the President, CISPA would make it legal for companies like Facebook to give information about you to the government; it would also make it possible for government agencies to share classified information with networks in an effort to thwart various electronic national security threats. What IS CISPA, Who Supports It And Why? An amendment to the National Security Act of 1947, CISPA’s primary purpose is to allow and encourage information ...
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A March Madness Parody For Friday

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Internet Lawyer
March Madness Parody
March Madness is upon us! Over the next couple of weeks, there will be smack-talk-a-plenty and lots of shouting at the TV. And who knows,  some legal questions may even arise out of it all if anyone makes a Kyle Williams-sized mistake. So to help ring in this special time of year, a Kelly Law friend — David Morgan (thanks, man!) — whipped us up a little parody to get this party started! Go Green! Sung to the tune of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” By David Morgan Its the least productive time of the year with basketball cheer and buckets of beer, March Madness is HERE! its the least productive time of the year Its the sad-saddest season of all for employers with meetings and deadlines a fleeting and missed conference calls Its the sad-saddest season ...
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How to Copyright and Trademark Your Intellectual Property

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Internet Lawyer
Trademark Law
A copyright is a protection for original intellectual properties that can be fixed in tangible form. A copyright gives the owner exclusive rights to determine how their works are used. Only the author has the right to claim a copyright on their works. What Can Be Copyrighted? Literary works, artwork, music, choreography, movies and sculptures are a few things that can be copyrighted. Not everything can be copyrighted, ideas which are considered common knowledge, and “sweat of the brow” efforts such as calendars, rulers, and phone books are examples of things that cannot be copyrighted. International Copyright Legalities Any material that has a copyright is subject to the laws of the country it’s established in. Most countries adhere to the terms of the Berne Convention, established in 1971. The Berne Convention determined that all works–with the exception of photography and ...
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Celebrity Lawsuits: Joustin’ Beaver’s Justin Bieber Infringement Lawsuit

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Internet Lawyer
joustin beaver lawsuit
Looks like everybody’s favorite, swagger-a-plenty, teenage crooner – Justin Bieber – is once again making news for something other than singing. This time around “the Biebs” is hopping mad over an app – Joustin’ Beaver – and his lawyers sent out “cease and desist” letters to Florida-based development company, RC3, over the issue. What’s got the Canadian “Baby” singer crying foul? He feels the Joustin’ game developers are unfairly capitalizing on his likeness. So does Justin Bieber have a case? Parody is protected speech according to the First Amendment and U.S. legal precedence; but there is also the “right of publicity” argument. So, let’s break this parody/copyright/right of publicity lawsuit down – byte by byte. What Is Joustin’ Beaver? Joustin’ Beaver is a 99 cent app – available for sale in both the Apple App Store and Android Marketplace. The ...
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Right of Publicity

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Internet Lawyer
rights of publicity
Right of publicity is a legal principle, recognized by approximately half of the fifty states, that protects individuals’ rights to their persona. In the most basic terms, it’s one of the laws that prohibits you from capitalizing on, say, DeadMau5′s brand without permission. Where available, the right of publicity allows a person to control the use of their name, appearance and other distinguishing characteristics. Generally, the strongest right of publicity cases involve commercial exploitation; non-profit and political uses are often exempt. Right of Publicity: Jurisdiction Most right of publicity issues a state law issue. Many of these state statutes were adopted to address a perceived gap in individual privacy rights, while others were designed simply to codify and clarify existing common law doctrines. In 1903, New York became the first state to specifically address the issue of an individual’s right ...
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What Is A Trademark?

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Internet Lawyer
Trademark Law
Internet Lawyer Explains U.S. Trademark Law Trademarks are ubiquitous – the shelves on any supermarket are stocked with cans stamped with the omnipresent “TM.” Few people, however, know precisely what a trademark is. Fewer still are familiar with the laws governing the registration and protection of trademarks. What Exactly Is A Trademark? A trademark is a broad term that covers virtually any feature of a company’s products that distinguish them from competitors. Virtually any unique and distinguishing mark can be treated as a trademark. The name “Levi Strauss,” the Nike “Swoosh” and the unique shape of the original Coca-Cola bottle are all examples of trademarks. History Of Trademark Law In The United States Understanding the status of modern trademark law requires at least nominal familiarity with the history of trademarks. In this country’s infancy, there were no federal laws in ...
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Another Porn Downloading Lawsuit

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Internet Lawyer
lawyer for bitTorrent lawsuits
This one comes to you from the porn downloading lawsuit files. Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got another live one. Filed at the end of January, in the Northern District of California, Liuxia Wong has submitted a claim against Hard Drive Productions, Inc. and Does 1-50. Wong is represented by Steven W. Yuen, and the case is worth de-constructing. It Started Like Any Other Porn Downloading Lawsuit… Wong’s porn downloading lawsuit started the same way most do. Liuxia received a settlement letter demanding $3,400, for an act of alleged online copyright infringement that occurred on March 28, 2011. The communication explained that Wong could be liable for up to $150,000 if the issue reached lawsuit stage; it also cautioned that an unsecured wireless router was not a defense. True to their word, Hard Drive filed a copyright complaint with the courts ...
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