About Jonathan Pearce

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So far Jonathan Pearce has created 13 blog entries.

Ethics: New California Mandatory Reporting Rule and Some Rule Review

New Mandatory Bar Ethics Reporting Rules The California Bar has adopted a new Rule of Professional Conduct 8.3 which requires that bar members report ethical breaches of other lawyers about which they are aware. This rule brings California into line with most other jurisdictions which require such reporting. The rule goes into effect on August [...]

By |2023-07-21T14:34:31-07:00July 21st, 2023|Ethics|0 Comments

Federal Courts of Appeal Cases on Trade Dress Infringement

Federal Courts of Appeal Cases on Trade Dress Infringement Jason Scott Collection, Inc. v. Trendily Furniture, LLC, 68 F.4th 1203 (9th Cir. 2023). The court affirmed copyright and trade dress infringement for furniture designs. Citing Wal-Mart Stores v. Samara Bros., 529 U.S. 205, 211–12 (2000), defendant argued that the furniture was not inherently distinctive so [...]

By |2023-06-15T15:39:29-07:00June 15th, 2023|Trade Dress|0 Comments

Software Copyright Protection and Drama Surrounding Judge Newman

It's Becoming Harder and Harder to Protect Software Function with Copyright In SAS Institute, Inc. v. World Programming Limited, Case No. 2021-1542 (Fed. Cir. April 6, 2023) (opinion here), the general question raise is as to the scope of protection afforded to computer software and computer software function specifically. SAS offers a software product called the [...]

By |2023-04-16T17:18:35-07:00April 16th, 2023|copyrightability, Copyright|0 Comments

Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple, Inc. Appeal Update

App Store Context and Epic Games' Plan for a Coup By every measure, the iPhone was a groundbreaking success from introduction. Despite the introduction being held together by shoestrings and duct tape, it turns out every human on earth wanted a handheld computer in their palm. Initially, the iPhone offered no ability to run any [...]

By |2023-02-28T13:12:04-08:00November 30th, 2022|monopoly|0 Comments

Service of Process by Mail Abroad

Service of process abroad was always presented to me as a difficult issue. And, it can be. The most recent, and important, discussion that bears on that process may be found in Water Splash, Inc. v. Menon, 2017 U.s. LEXIS 3212, Case No. 16-254 (2017) which resolved a circuit split regarding whether service by mail was [...]

By |2022-07-18T09:05:46-07:00July 18th, 2022|Personal Jurisdiction|0 Comments

Typeface and Font IP Protection – April 18, 2022

Typefaces - the actual shapes of a group of letters - and fonts - the software used to create a particular typeface - are both protectable under U.S. intellectual property laws. Design Patents in Typefaces The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (the "MPEP") is remarkably terse regarding typefaces (called Type Fonts just to add to [...]

By |2022-05-06T09:36:52-07:00April 18th, 2022|Copyright|0 Comments

Exceptional Cases in Patent and Trademark – February 14, 2022

On Monday, February 14, 2022 (Happy Valentine's Day!), SoCal IP Law Group partner Jonathan Pearce will present on several patent and trademark cases involving "exceptional case" determinations. Our firm has handled a few litigation matters involving potential or actual exceptional cases recently. As a result, we have some experience in these determinations and thought them [...]

By |2022-02-12T08:45:44-08:00February 12th, 2022|Trademark, Attorney's Fees, Patent|0 Comments

VGBA 2020-2021 IP Year in Review

On Monday, January 10, 2022 at 1:00 pm, Jonathan Pearce will re-present a recent presentation to the Video Game Bar Association made by himself and fellow practitioner Allison Rothman. Mr. Pearce and Ms. Rothman previously made this presentation during the VGBA's annual summit to provide its members with an update on the state of intellectual property [...]

By |2022-01-10T14:48:22-08:00January 10th, 2022|Trademark, Copyright, Patent|0 Comments

Lanham Act Puffery and Foreign Jurisdictional Issues

Which Pizza has better ingredients and who is allowed to say so? Our two cases are Lanham Act court of appeals cases. The first, Pizza Hut, Inc. v. Papa John’s Int’l., 227 F.3d 489 (5th Cir 2000) (here), from the Fifth Circuit in 2000, relates to Pizza Hut’s claim the Papa John’s advertising using the phrase [...]

By |2021-10-25T11:13:59-07:00October 22nd, 2021|Trademark, Likelihood of Confusion, Litigation|0 Comments

Sirius Wins on CA State Copyright Claims and Sovereign Immunity Strikes Again

Sirius Gets a Win on CA State Copyright Claims In Flo & Eddie, Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio, Inc., No. 17-55844 (August 23, 2021) (available here), the panel reversed the district court’s grant of partial summary judgment to Flo & Eddie, Inc. in its action against Sirius XM satellite radio, seeking royalties for pre-1972 songs [...]

By |2021-08-30T09:04:18-07:00August 27th, 2021|Copyright, Litigation|0 Comments
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