Local officials from Kunming, the capitol city of the province of Yunnan, China, have begun to crack down on the much-publicized “fake” apple stores that came to light last week. Two of the five stores have been shut down by the local industry and commerce administration. According to China Daily’s U.S. edition, the remaining 3…

The Italian car maker Lamborghini wasted little time in filing a lawsuit (US District Court, State of Nevada, Case No. 2:11-cv-01154-ECR –RJJ) against the Palazzo resort in Las Vegas. The Palazzo recently opened an exotic car showroom, an Italian restaurant, and a merchandise gallery called Dal Toro. The Dal Toro logo bears an all-too-similar resemblance…

Sprinkles Cupcakes gained huge popularity due to its delicious cupcakes and also to a helping hand from the PR gained from getting on the Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart show. The company which has locations in Beverly Hills, Chicago, New York and throughout the country, is taking aim at a newer store which opened in…

Several of MTV’s ‘The Jersey Shore’ stars have been applying for trademarks to be used in product lines of different varieties. The use of celebrity trademarks has been an increasingly-popular way to try and capitalize on minor-league fame. But apparently, Jersey Shore star DJ Pauly D will have a harder time than most. Unfortunately for…

The USPTO’s chronic backlog problems and painfully slow registration process may soon be remedied. Last week, the House passed a bill that should speed up the patent process by doing two things: 1 – Making the first person to file a patent application the undisputed owner of patent rights, not necessarily the party who invented…

The Hangover: Part II, set to hit theaters this Thursday, will not be hampered by a copyright infringement lawsuit, at least for now. The tattoo on Mike Tyson’s face was done by tattoo artist S. Victor Whitmill, and Whitmill’s work is distinct enough that he doesn’t want anyone copying it. That includes Ed Helms’ character,…

After more than seven years, 70 witnesses, and thousands of exhibits, a verdict has been reached in the roller-coaster “Bratz” dolls trial. The trial (Bryant v. Mattel, 04-09049, U.S. District Court, Central District of California) pitted toy making giants Mattell, Inc. against Van Nuys based MGA Entertainment, Inc. over the rights to the wildly popular…

Apparently, Orange County-based surf/skate company Volcom finds Jay Z’s Roc Nation label’s logo a little too close for comfort. The clothing designer recently filed a trademark infringement suit (Volcom Inc. (VLCM), v. Roc Nation LLC, 8:11-cv-00489-JST-FFM, U.S. District Court, Central District of California). The suit arises over the use of an inverted “double diamond” design…

Recently, Twitter suspended two of its affiliates Twidroid and Uber Twitter for alleged trademark infringement and privacy violations. The interesting thing is that it appears that UberMedia, the owner and operator of the third-party Twitter applications Twidroid and Uber Twitter, is buying up a roster of apps that may possibly compete with Twitter in the…