Two Recent Trademark Cases The Supreme Court takes a trademark case: RiseandShine Corp. v. PepsiCo., Inc., No. 24-1016 (U.S. 2026) (granting Cert.). Is the strength of a trademark an issue of fact,, a jury issue, or an issue of law for the judge? The Second Circuit is the only appellate court to hold the issue [...]
On Monday, March 3, Marina L. Lang, Partner at SoCal IP Law Group LLP, will lead a discussion about the rise in privacy litigation and how lawyers can prepare their corporate clients for potential claims whilst plaintiffs’ lawyers continue testing out various legal theories against companies that maintain an online presence and, as a result, [...]
Conceptual Weakness Versus Commercial Weakness of Trademarks On Monday, February 24, Chris Kopitzke will lead the discussion about a recent 9th Circuit decision considering work made for hire in a religious setting and termination of copyright transfers. We’ll also examine two 2025 Trademark Trial and Appeal Board appeals that yielded different results based on conceptual [...]
Please join us Monday, January 6, 2025 where we will review two recent ethics decisions published by the State Bar Board of Trustees. The first case (available here) deals with the issue of what are a lawyer’s ethical obligations to engage in succession planning? The second case (available here) deals with the issue of What [...]
Please join us Monday, October 14, 2024, at noon, where we will discuss how a panel of judges for the Second Circuit ruled that purchasing a competitor's trademark as a keyword, without also establishing a likelihood of confusion, does not necessarily amount to trademark infringement, in the 1-800 Contacts case that was newly decided this [...]
In Blizzard Entertainment v. Ava Labs, Opposition No. 91285851, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, in a precedential decision available here, ruled against Ava’s counterclaim alleging that Blizzard had never used its pleaded registered marks or had abandoned them because Blizzard only used them in connection with the retail sale of its own goods. This [...]
Inventorship Determinations in the Era of AI-Assisted Inventions The evolution of artificial intelligence from traditional predictive algorithms to modern generative AI poses unique challenges to our understanding of inventorship. Unlike its predecessors, generative AI can create novel, original content by identifying patterns in data—a process strikingly similar to human invention. A pivotal moment in patent [...]
Please join us Monday, April 15, 2024 at noon where we will discuss Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 (Rule 68) and the "open question" of whether post-offer attorney’s fees are part of the recoverable "costs" for a defendant, in particular, in copyright cases. I think defendants should be able to use the Rule 68 [...]
Please join us on Monday, November 13, 2023 at Noon, where we will discuss the issue of master ownership and the legal copyright conflicts between record labels and artists. Taylor Swift may be the first to make this copyright issue truly public, leaving fans wondering who really owns Swift's music and why. She says she [...]
Tax Court Case of the Century A unique and dramatic presentation by a former IRS Estate Tax Attorney, Michael A. Permutter, whose personal journey included examining Michael Jackson's Estate Tax return, presenting at IRS Appeals, assisting IRS litigators in the Estate's historic and epic court battle against the IRS, and even being called up to [...]
