Posts under ‘Intellectual Property’

Eric Goldman (http://blog.ericgoldman.org), whom I respect a great deal, suggested I consider whether the “first sale” doctrine would apply to Ansel Adams’ alleged long lost negatives dispute. (See post of 8/27/2010 — http://www.jonathanpinkesq.com/ansel-adams-or-not-the-story-of-a-trademark-dispute.) I now have, and don’t believe it does.
While trademark law prohibits some uses of another’s trademark, that prohibition is not unlimited. [...]

Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve written. Yes, when I extol the virtues of a blog, I always say write often. I’ll save the excuses. (OK, fine; twist my arm: in a nutshell, I became despondent when I took a friend’s offer to jazz up my site and saw my ranking plummet, plummet! From [...]

Fighting over the “nurdle”: Colgate and Aqua-Fresh are in a pitched trademark battle over the nurdle, that curvy swirl of toothpaste that is a marketing icon on toothpaste tubes, boxes and media ads. Thanks to my eagle-eyed wife, Andrea, who spotted this gem in Friday’s Wall Street Journal.

I’ve given my “SOCIAL MEDIA Barriers, Benefits and Bombshells” talk quite a lot lately. In light of this, I’ve decided to simply post it here.
This talk usually lasts about an hour, so read this post s-l-o-w-l-y.
Also, the talk is punctuated by cartoons of my own creation. So laugh heartily every 5 [...]

This just in: YouTube has prevailed in motion for summary judgment, effectively fending off Viacom’s $1B claim for copyright infringement. Based on what I’m gleaning from news, the ruling appears to be largely founded on the protections inherent (for one who complies) in the Digital Copyright Millennium Act.
Here’s what Google has said in a statement [...]

I admit, I can never keep straight these categories of potential copyright protection.
Ok, for the record, and so that I have something to look back at the next time I’m feeling utterly confused on the topic, here it is for once and for all (um, or at least until some higher court says otherwise).
Letters, lectures, [...]

I have broken one of my own rules of blogging: e.g. to post often and with some regularity. Fortunately, my other rule is don’t sweat rule No. One. After all, blogging is great, but life is short and there are plenty of other things to get done.
Which brings me to nearly pointless point No. Two: [...]

Look at this: two in one day.  Yes, two posts.  Count ‘em, one-two.  Ok, so it’s hardly the New York Times, but then again, I do have a day job.
And in keeping with two, just two quick notes (in case I never get around to writing the full story on these) on two cases:
The first, [...]

You know, I’m so b-a-d (oh, uh, that spells “bad” for those not yet awake) about getting new posts up here. (Oh please, it’s not like anyone’s paying me for this stuff, so lay off!) But I’ve been meaning to write about this one for a while, so – although it may be [...]

The question of what constitutes “diversity” for purposes of diversity jurisdiction in Federal Court pursuant to under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 has been the topic of some disagreement amongst the Circuit Courts. That’s about to change.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Hertz Corporation v. Friend that a corporation’s principal place [...]