20 June

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Havana Club Trademark Dispute with US and Bacardi

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Cuba and the US are at war…over Rum! Cuba’s state distillery sells the popular rum “Havana Club” in over 120 different countries (distributed through Pernod Ricard, a French company). But entry of Cuba’s delectable national drink is barred into the U.S. because of the embargo. The USPTO did however granted Havana Club International the U.S. trademark rights for “Havana Club.” However, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions, did not issue a license to the company to make a $200 renewal payment. Thus, a court recently refused the “Havana Club”...

15 June

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No Doubt Lawsuit with Activision Right of Publicity

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No Doubt enjoyed mainstream success during the 90s with hits like “Don’t Speak” and “Just a Girl.” Last week, the band announced its plans to reunite and release an album this September. The same day that the band shared the news of their planned comeback, a judge gave permission for the band’s lawsuit against video game maker Activision to be heard by a jury. “Hella Good” day for No Doubt. The video game created by Activision, Band Hero, features the band members’ likenesses as video game characters. Players of this video game can select a character that is modeled after a...

12 June

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Google’s Fair Use Defense to Authors Copyright Infringement

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in Copyright

Last month, Google got the vote for “most popular technology brand,” beating out Facebook, Twitter, and Apple. Google has grown to include its own specialized search tool for Maps, News, Shopping, Videos, etc. A few years back, Google started Google Books and made an agreement with several research libraries to scan books for its Google Books Library Project. It has scanned 12 million books over the course of the project. The website for Google Books describes that you can view a few “snippets” or sentences of copyrighted books and you can fully view a book that is out of copyright. The website...

05 June

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Charlie Sheen Trademark Infringement and Right of Publicity

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For $250, guests of a New York Gentlemen’s Club could eat sushi off the body of an almost-naked woman in the “Charlie Sheen Room.” At least until Sheen’s lawyer sent the Cheetahs Gentlemen’s Club a cease and desist letter threatening a lawsuit for millions, which the club complied with. The “Charlie Sheen Room” featured Sheen’s name and images. It sounds a little creepy, but hey, to each his own. The president of the company owning Cheetahs, Sam Zherka, denied that it used Sheen’s name to promote the business. Rather, he says that the strip club used the name for comical effect...

02 June

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Gucci Trademark Infringement Against Guess

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in Trademark

After three years, the Gucci v. Guess trademark infringement battle finally ended earlier this month when Gucci received a settlement of $4.7 million in damages (Gucci initially demanded $221 million). The judge’s words: “Over the past three years, the parties have put in countless hours and spent untold sums of money, all in the service of fashion — what Oscar Wilde aptly called ‘a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.’” Ever since the end of the case, the web has been abuzz with talk about what this decision means for future trademark disputes...

30 May

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Ipad Chinese Proview v. Apple Trademark Update

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in Trademark

So what’s new in Proview vs. Apple? If you remember from our earlier blogs, since late 2011 the two companies have engaged in a trademark dispute over the iPad name. Proview Technology, a now bankrupt Chinese manufacturer, registered the trademark “iPad” in 2001. Apple released the iPad in 2010 and states that it purchased the rights to the “iPad” trademark in 10 countries from Proview in 2009. Apple paid Proview around $55,000 for purchasing the trademark, but Proview later demanded $10 million for Apple’s use of the name “iPad” in China. Proview says that it still retains the right to the...

16 May

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Top Trademark Firms Cohen IP Law Group, P.C.

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in Trademark

We are proud to announce that Michael N. Cohen of Cohen IP Law Group, P.C. has again ranked in the 2012 edition of Intellectual Property Today magazine survey for its Top Trademark Law Firms . The law firms are ranked according to the number of U.S. trademark registrations issued in 2011 where the firm or attorney is listed as the legal representative on the registration. This is the third year in a row that Cohen IP Law Group, P.C. has received this honor. Cohen IP Law Group, P.C. is a premier boutique intellectual property law firm specializing in complex trademark prosecution...

10 May

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Great Article About INTA (International Trademark Association)

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in Trademark

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jesscollen/2012/05/10/265/...

02 May

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Negligent Drivers Face Motorcycle Accident Settlements

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in California Tort Law

This is a blog from my friend Michael Ehline from Ehline Law Firm PC. He is a great tort lawyer, so read his guest blog below: Negligent drivers face motorcycle accident settlements, this is the motorcycle accident lawsuits that hold the driver accountable for their actions, when they have been carless or reckless. The motorcycle accident complaint will include compensation for the injuries the rider suffered, the lost wages, permanent disabilities, and other damages that were caused by this accident. The motorcycle accident complaint alleging the negligence of the driver, the experienced motorcycle accident attorney will have investigated the accident and the...

19 April

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Tupac Hologram Copyright and Intellectual Property Issues

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Most of you have probably heard about the Tupac hologram at the Coachella Music Festival in California over the weekend. If you haven’t…read the news, there was a Tupac hologram at the Coachella Music Festival over the weekend. Now that’s out of the way, why is this important? First, it was a great post-mortem performance along side Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg which can be seen here. Tupac hologram copyright Second, in addition to the incredible technical feat of the hologram, which was a collaboration pushed by Dr. Dre and done by Digital Domain Productions and AV Concepts, Pandora’s box blew up...

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