Legal Magic: Can J.K. Rowling Make Unauthorized Companion Books Disappear?
Filed Under General | Posted on March 12, 2008
By: Risa Drexler
In 2004, J.K. Rowling gave the Harry Potter Lexicon (“Lexicon”), a web site devoted to analyzing and cataloging all things Harry Potter, her annual FanSite award. “This is such a great site,” she wrote, “that I have been known to sneak into an internet café while out writing and check a fact rather […]
More than a Game: Fantasy Sports Industry Wins Recent Legal Battle Over Use of Player Stats
Filed Under General | Posted on March 6, 2008
By: Matthew Stark
Fantasy sports have emerged as an immensely popular means of supplementing fans’ enjoyment of sports. As the 2008 baseball season approaches, millions of fans are preparing to draft their fantasy baseball teams. The Fantasy Sports Trade Association estimates that 20 million people participate in fantasy sports in North America and that […]
Violence in Sports and the Prospect of Federal Regulation of Professional Leagues: Should Punishment Come in Yards or Years?
Filed Under General | Posted on March 3, 2008
By: William Burke
The prospect of increased federal regulation of professional sports is a growing concern in the field of sports law. Such regulation is openly invited by some and fervently opposed by others. However, all involved are debating essentially the same question: should the federal government have any say in the punishment […]
Nobody Owns Katonah: Martha Stewart’s Attempt to Trademark the Name of her Westchester Village
Filed Under General | Posted on February 26, 2008
By: C. Briccetti
In January of 2007, it became public that Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO) intended to trademark “Katonah” to be used for a line of furniture, paints, and other home furnishings.i Katonah is the name of a tony Westchester County hamlet of the Town of Bedford located about 40 miles north of […]
Metatags and Trademark Infringement
Filed Under General | Posted on February 19, 2008
By: A.M.
In 1999, the Ninth Circuit in Brookfield Communication v. West Coast Entertainment held that the intentional use of a company’s trademark as a metatag on a competitor’s website constituted trademark infringement. This landmark case relied upon the doctrine of initial interest confusion, as articulated by the Second Circuit in Mobile Oil Corporation v. […]
Counterfeit Tiffany Jewelry on eBay
Filed Under General | Posted on February 14, 2008
By Kathryn Newman
Luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co. has filed suit against eBay Inc., alleging that eBay has failed to properly police its online auction Web site to stop the sale of counterfeit Tiffany jewelry, since being put on notice about the sale of counterfeit jewelry in 2003.i Tiffany argues that eBay has a responsibility […]
When Worlds Collide: The Intellectual Property Basis of a Labor Dispute and Why It Matters to the Future of Hollywood
Filed Under General | Posted on February 10, 2008
By: Kellie Kroyer
On November 5, 2007, over 12,000 television and film writers went on strike, crippling productions and, as of the date of this writing, costing the industry upwards of $1 billion. The strike was the result of three key points of contention which arose during contract negotiations between the Writers Guild of America […]
The Design Piracy Prohibition Act- Friend or Foe to the Fashion Industry?
Filed Under General | Posted on January 29, 2008
By: Lauren Ciancia
Until recent months, the fashion industry was unique from its artistic counterparts in that intellectual property protection was afforded only to counterfeit goods, namely “any [good] that infringe[s] on a registered trademark or falsely purport[s] to be authentic.”i This may bring to mind the image of a street stand table strewn with […]
Too Many Lawyers in the Kitchen?
Filed Under General | Posted on January 24, 2008
By: L.S.
On June 26, 2007, Rebecca Charles, owner of Pearl Oyster Bar in the West Village, filed suit in the Federal District Court in Manhattan against her former employee, Ed McFarland, chef and co-owner of Ed’s Lobster Bar in SoHo. She alleged trade dress and trade secret infringement. The next day, the New York […]
Making Available
Filed Under General | Posted on January 23, 2008
By: Jason Lunardi
Will an emerging “making available” right enable copyright owners to defeat piracy or will it spell the end of privacy for P2P users?
The Copyright Act of 1976 explicitly grants exclusive rights to authors of copyrighted works. 17 U.S.C. § 106. This bundle of rights includes the exclusive right to: 1) reproduce the […]