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Philippine Photographer Sues Major Daily for Copyright Infringement.
2008-06-09 09:00:00 Photographer Sues Major Daily for Copyright Infringement. Photo of Atty Rod Vera with case document at RTC. Civil case #08-436 for copyright infringement and damages. I finally did it.. with the help of my copyright lawyer atty vera. i sued a major daily, a 108 year old newspaper that used my photo without permission. The same newspaper that threatened to slap me with a criminal case if continued my claim. The original story here. http://photo.net.ph/blogaliciou-s/2007/10/01/major-daily-violat-es-photographers-copyright-and--intellectual-property/ Story on DIGG here: http://digg.com/world_news/Phot-ographer_Sues_Major_Daily_for_C-opyright_Infringement Story on PRWEB newswire here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2-008/06/prweb1001774.htm Correct me if I am wrong but this will probably be the first time an EXIF file will be used as Evidence in the Philippines? More details on the case coming soon.. thats all I can say for now
Possible Damages in Patent Infringement Violations
2008-06-06 17:17:00 Violations on the use of one?s trademark or product name and design constitute patent infringement. An infringement occurs when any party manufactures, sells, imports, uses and offers a patented technology. In simple terms, anyone who sells a product similar to an existing licensed product is considered a violation of the law.
Wipro Lighting wins trademark infringement case
2008-05-31 09:17:00 Wipro Consumer Care Lighting has won a trademark infringement case against a Delhi company that had been using its brand name and similar ... Click on Headline to read full Article..
Oregon Jury Awards $305 Million to Adidas for Payless Shoe Infringement
2008-05-07 06:59:00 On May 5, a nine-person jury in the District of Oregon found Payless Shoesource, Inc., liable for infringing Adidas America, Inc.’s three-stripe trademark and awarded Adidas $305 million. The jury found Payless infringed or diluted Adidas’ mark or trade dress by using a two- and four-stripe logo on its competing athletic shoes. Trial lasted 14 days. The jury deliberated for two days. An att-orney representing Adidas said he thought it was the biggest verdict in a trademark infringement case ever. Collective Brands Inc., which operates Payless and Stride Right stores, said the award was “excessive and unjustified” and vowed to have it set aside or overturn.An excerpt from the jury verdict form showing Payless’ shoes. “Yes” indicates infringement.From the jury verdict form:“Section III. Monetary Recovery8) State the amount of actual damages that should be awarded to ad...
Meta Tags Constitute Trademark Infringement or Not?
2008-05-03 00:00:00 A couple of influential court cases in the US have been decided, however, they differ on the overall outcome when it comes to use of trademarked words in META data including keywords constitute trademark infringement. North American Medical Corp. v. Axiom Worldwide, Inc. But in this case, I do not think Axiom denied placing those terms in their meta tags. The question Goldman has is, did the meta tags influence the site to rank for those terms? Google has told us they ignore the keywords meta tag, but said they do use the meta description tag. But would the meta description tag alone be enough to rank a site for? Hard to say. But if you add some links to the equation, then it is a no brainer. Search Engine Land Although Axiom?s website never displayed NAM?s trademarked terms to visitors and never mentioned NAM or NAM?s products, Axiom nonetheless included the terms within its meta tags to influence Internet search engines. For instance, evidence in this case indicated that, before A...
By: SEOPittfall
Victoria Secret's Sued For Patent Infringement
2008-04-23 00:44:00 A New York woman filed suit against Limited Brands Inc Monday alleging the parent company of Victoria's Secret stole her idea for its Very Sexy 100-way strapless convertible bra.Katerina Plew sued in U.S. District Court in lower Manhattan, saying Victoria's Secret infringed her May 2004 patent and knew about the patent since at least April 2006."I came up with the idea when I was trying to find a bra to go with one of the two dresses that I could wear to my triplets' christening," said Plew, 38. "I went crazy looking for a bra where the straps wouldn't show and couldn't find anything."Her triplets are now nine years old.Plew, a single mother who works as a paralegal, said she researched her product visiting stores and looking through catalogues, and "that's when I came up with the idea."She said she spent about $12,000 to patent the product and developed a prototype."When I realized how much it would cost to produce, I started contacting companies," she said.Plew had an appoin...
Giving Away Spoilers Isn't Copyright Infringement
2008-04-21 06:05:00 We pointed to some of JK Rowling's questionable testimony in the case against a publisher of a guide book to the Harry Potter universe -- where she made a bunch of emotional claims that had little to do with copyright. In wrapping up the case, she again made contradictory claims, backing away from earlier claims of the book being "wholesale theft" to saying that she wasn't so against the book if it only didn't quote so much of the book. But the much odder part of the case was the closing testimony from the lawyer representing Warner Brothers (who owns the Harry Potter IP rights), claiming that the real harm was that the Harry Potter Lexicon gives away spoilers.
By: Attuworld
Flip Video camera maker hit with patent infringement lawsuit
2008-04-18 02:43:00 Advanced Video Technologies lobbed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pure Digital Technology, maker of the popular Flip Video cameras, according to a Reuters report. Flip Video Ultra (Credit: Pure Digital) The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a U.S. District Court in New York, alleges Pure Digital infringed on Advanced Video’…
Seagate Sues Solid-State Storage Maker STEC For Patent Infringement
2008-04-16 03:20:00 Seagate Sues Solid-State Storage Maker STEC For Patent InfringementSSDs remain significantly more expensive than hard disk storage, and the theoretical performance advantage is still largely unrealized.http://www.informati-onweek.com/news/show...
Five-Year Delay May Cut Off Trademark Infringement Damages, But Not Claim
2008-04-14 06:18:00 In Sonoma Foods, Inc. v. Sonoma Cheese Factory, LLC, plaintiff cheese maker sued defendant cheese maker in the Northern District of California. At issue was Sonoma Cheese Factory’s use of Sonoma Foods’ registered trademarks, SONOMA CHEESE FACTORY and DESIGN and SONOMA JACK (the “Bull Trademarks”), allegedly constituting infringement and a false description or passing off. According to Sonoma Cheese Factory, before December 31, 2001, Sonoma Foods owned and operated the Sonoma Cheese Factory retail store. On that date, the corporation was restructured; Sonoma Cheese Factory, LLC, was formed; and Sonoma Foods transferred the retail store to the new entity. When Sonoma Cheese Factory acquired the store, it continued to use the same signs and packaging that Sonoma Foods had used. It is that use about which Sonoma Foods complains. Two Photos Sonoma Cheese Factory submitted in support of its motion for part...
Snoop Dogg Hit With Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
2008-04-11 00:00:00 Rapper SNOOP DOGG is facing legal action from a little-known U.S. songwriter, who has accused the star of copyright infringement for his latest single SENSUAL SEDUCTION. Millennium Child, real name James D. Jenkins, claims the Beautiful hitmaker - real name Calvin Broadus - stole his "music strings" for the single ...
By: Mp3 weblog
US Court Rules Meta Tags Can Constituted Trademark Infringement
2008-04-09 08:27:00 Eric Goldman reports that an 11th circuit, US Court of Appeals has upheld a district court’s decision that the use of trademarked terms in meta tags can cause confusion and thus can constitute trademark infringement. North American Medical Corp. v. Axiom Worldwide, Inc. docket number 06-01678 CV-JTC-1 (PDF) doesn’t specifically say if the trademarked terms ...
Seattle Post-Intelligencer suspends blogger for copyright infringement
2008-03-31 16:03:00 This happened late last year, but I thought it was worth noting. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which hosts a innovative section of professional reporters and readers blogs (including my Seattle Real Estate Professsionals blog), suspended a blogger for being a little too generous with quotes from another source. Blog Suspended
Nintendo shutting down fan site for copyright infringement?
2008-03-30 01:53:00 The administrators over at FriendCodes.com are reporting that Nintendo of America has sent out an email requesting that the fan site be shut down due to copyright infringement. "Basically Nintendo is 'asking' us to remove the site files that are infringing the copyright (such as the logo, which contains the word 'friendcodes'), and to drop the domain name for the same reason," a forum post on the site read. "They've been sending the emails for almost a month now with no response, so they're very serious about it right now. We're still talking about what to do, but it looks like we will have to shut down the site temporarily, until it all gets worked out. Of course, if it works out Nintendo's way, we'll be closed down permanently. Naturally, we're going to try and keep that from happening, but like I said, it doesn't look good." We're very skeptical about this, as April Fools' Day is coming up, but judge for yourself. Nintendo was not available for c...
Is it illegal or copyright infringement if to use retailers product images
2008-03-29 12:52:00 Im contemplating exporting established U.S. brand names that I think would be a hit in other countries. Is it illegal or would it infringe on any copyrights if I use the retailers product images and product descriptions on my own site if I reference the source? To assist keeping overhead low I more than likely will not be keeping my own inventory rather purchasing items individually from the retailers once they are purchased from me. That also means that I wont be receiving any kind of bulk discounts. Thank you for your advisement!
By: nobosh Answers
50 Cent & Ludacris Suing A Tavern For Copywrite Infringement?
2008-03-28 20:28:00 Cover bands have long used their passion to perform the songs their idols once did on the biggest stage. However, a little tavern in Spokane, WA is finding out this may in fact be against the law. Known as The Flame, this tavern/restaurant has recently been slapped with a lawsuit due to copyright infringement concerning songs that are being performed for night time entertainment. Local attorneys representing the artists involved have asked that the plaintiffs be paid ?no more than $30,000 nor less than $750.? The lawsuit and complaint were released earlier this week in which the attorneys stated, ?Neither Defendants, nor any of the Defendants' agents, servants or employees, nor any performer was licensed by, or otherwise received permission from any Plaintiff or any agent, servant or employee of any Plaintiff to give such performances.? Songs included in the lawsuit are 50 Cent?s ?Candy Shop? and Ludacris? ?Get Back,? along with other records from various artists. This lawsuit come...
By: Ballin Hip-Hop
50 Cent & Ludacris Suing A Tavern For Copywrite Infringement?
2008-03-28 17:01:00 A local tavern in Washington is being sued for bands covering songs from 50 Cent and Ludacris.
Kanye West Sued For Copyright Infringement
2008-03-26 21:01:00 Kanye West has been accused of stealing the lyrics for his song “Good Life.” A songwriter in Maryland claims the rapper “didn?t obtain a license” to sample his record Volume of Good Life for the track. He also points out that Kanye West was “only at the age of six or seven years of age” when his ...
By: The.DERRTY Truth
Mar/11/08 "Plausible" Infringement Claim
2008-03-25 21:09:00 In the recent case T.D.I. International, Inc. v. Golf Preservations, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky held that the By Keith Bae, Sedo Legal Team In the recent case T.D.I. International, Inc. v. Golf Preservations, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky held that the unauthorized purchase ...
Copyright Infringement Update
2008-03-18 03:58:00 Clear Channel took it down in under 10 hours as expected, but maybe now they will think VERY CAREFULLY before the just grab an image off a blog or website.All contents and art © Jay Montgomery 2008
Copyright infringement of my work!
2008-03-17 04:41:00 I just found out tonight that my work has been copied/stolen onto a site owned by Clear Channel. The funny thing is I found out from them. They emailed me asking permission to use the illustration. I did not get back to them right away so they went ahead and used it without permission anyway. Read the email that I just sent them here.-----------------------------Emilee,So sorry for taking so long getting back to you. I’m an illustrator that makes a living on selling reproduction rights to my work. I just noticed that you went ahead and stole my copyrighted illustration and words from this page:http://jaymontgomery.blogs-pot.com/2007/10/illustration-fr-iday-growth.htmland posted it on your commercial site on this page:http://www.greenteamutah.c-om/pages/gallery/I did not give you permission to use that image. Furthermore, I noticed your copyright and trademark info page:http://www.greenteamutah.c-om/cc-common/tou.html#copyandtr-adeIt states that a procedure for making claim of copyright ...
Infringement Safari: Seattle
2008-03-16 17:47:00 Apple’s iPod ad campaign has been copied and spoofed dozens of times. Nonetheless, Apple can’t be too happy about San Francisco-based Specialty’s Cafe and Bakery’s latest ads. I saw this placard yesterday in downtown Seattle. The worst of it is, these shops are quite good and well-known. Apple’s campaign is no longer fresh, and the link between ordering sandwiches and the Internet seems pretty weak. So why did Specialty’s copy Apple’s ads? It should be beneath them.
Mar/11/08 "Plausible" Infringement Claim
2008-03-14 08:48:00 In the recent case T.D.I. International, Inc. v. Golf Preservations, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky held that the By Keith Bae, Sedo Legal Team In the recent case T.D.I. International, Inc. v. Golf Preservations, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky held that the unauthorized purchase ...
Western District Denies Motion to Dismiss Contributory Infringement Claim
2008-03-02 19:39:00 In ProteoTech, Inc. v. Unicity International, Inc., plaintiff ProteoTech alleges the University of Washington granted it an exclusive license to use certain technology. Thereafter, ProteoTech granted an exclusive, limited field of use license with respect to the technology to third-party defendant Rexall Sundown, Inc. Through various corporate transactions, a Rexall subsidiary was combined with another company and then purchased by a third entity that became known as defendant Unicity. ProteoTech alleges that Rexall granted a non-exclusive, transferable sublicense to Unicity’s predecessor. ProteoTech also alleges that PTI-00703 is a registered trademark (for dietary supplements) in which it retains all rights despite its lack of use. ProteoTech claims that Rexall was not authorized to sublicense the technology at issue to Unicity. Last year, it filed suit in the Western District, claiming in pertinent part that Rexall is liable ...
Chinese Court Redresses Trademark Infringement with Huge Damages Award
2008-03-01 19:30:00 The China Business Law Blog recently published two posts (here and here) about a 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) trademark infringement award by the Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court. That’s a far cry richer than the 500,000 yuan ($64,000) Starbucks won last year in its trademark infringement suit (STL post on the decision here; discussion of the damages calculation in that case here). So why the (relatively) big award this time? Here’s how the China Business Law Blog explains it:“The court’s award of damages in [G2000 v. 2000] is intriguing. Plaintiff pleaded for damages totaling 20,000,000 Yuan (that is right, 20 million). And the Court ordered the Defendants to turn over the figures for total sales, profits, etc. for the goods complained of in the relevant period of time, but the Defendant failed to do so. Generally, Chinese courts award damages to a plaintiff in an IP infringement case to the extent of a defendantR...
Apple Sued Over Alleged Patent Infringement on iPhone
2008-02-28 09:42:00 The downside of having cash is the “lawsuit magnet” effect. Apple is getting sued by Romek Figa of Abraham & Sons about an alleged patent infringement on how the phone finds a known contact name, based on the caller’s number. Obvi...
Google And Microsoft Sued For Patent Infringement
2008-02-21 04:54:00 GOOGLE AND MICROSOFT WERE HIT with a lawsuit last week by a company claiming to own a patent on paid search methods??How can this be?I'm quite shocked when I read about this news on a website I just dropped by.click here for the full story
Google & Microsoft Charged With Patent Infringement
2008-02-19 11:00:00 After being sued for defamation, it seems Google in now once again in for a lawsuit. (...)
Patent Infringement Lawyer
2008-02-19 02:04:00 Nowadays, internet has grown faster, every one already take the benefit of the internet especially for organization. At the same time internet crime also grow accordingly; people can download any software without pay any amount for license. That why if you have any product just like software or anything that basically distributed electronic or published in the internet you Intellectual property rights to protect your product. There is a lawyer focusing in Intellectual property rights, I suggest you to visit the official website at http://www.myintellectualproper-tyrights.com, Tara J. Williams will help whatever you need an advice in intellectual property law and about Intellectual property rights issues related. Tara J. William is Patent Infringement Lawyer. For your information involving any case about patent infingement will be pursued in Federal court. Attorney Williams is admitted to the United States patent bar as well as in the state of North Carolina. So, if you feel nee...
Motorola and RIM Trade Patent Infringement Suits
2008-02-19 00:00:00 News has surfaced that BlackBerry smartphone maker Research In Motion (RIM) and beleaguered mobile phone manufacturer Motorola have traded patent infringement suits. RIM is also accusing Motorola of anti-competitive royalty structures. Read the full story here.
Western District Stays But Does Not Dismiss 1-800-JUSTICE Infringement Case
2008-02-10 02:01:00 Plaintiff Just Enterprises, Inc., owns a federal registration for 1-800-JUSTICE for “legal referral services.” Defendant- Phillips & Webster, PLLC, is a Woodinville, Wash.-based personal injury law firm. Just Enterprises alleges in its complaint filed in the Western District of Washington that P&W has licensed and currently uses 888-JUSTICE in connection with its law firm in a manner that is likely to cause confusion with Just Enterprises’ mark.&n-bsp;P&W brought a motion to dismiss on grounds of fair use, among other defenses.On Feb. 7, Judge Robert Lasnik denied P&W’s motion, but stayed the action based on a prior similar pending action in the Western District of Missouri.The court’s opinion provides a nice discussion of the fair use defense with regard to telephone number trademarks:“Defendant maintains that its use of 1-888-JUSTICE in its television advertisements is a fair u...
Intel Sued For Core 2 Duo Patent Infringement ? by the University of Wiscon
2008-02-07 23:50:00 Although Intel’s mighty proud of the Core 2 Duo, it looks like the chip wasn’t all home-grown — a lawsuit filed today by the University of Wisconsin claims that the processor infringes on patented technology developed by one of its professors. Back in 1998, CS department chair Gurindar Sohi presented some of his developments relating ...
By: Gadgets Are Us
Chinese Official Explains How His Court Calculated Infringement Damages
2008-02-05 07:13:00 The December 2007 issue of China Intellectual Property magazine had a nice write-up about the Starbucks Corp. v. Shanghai Xingbake Cafe Corp. Ltd. trademark infringement case that Shanghai’s No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court decided last year. The case (which STL discussed here) was important because it was the first time China’s new Trademark Law had been applied to a famous trademark.Starbucks and Xingake logosPhoto credit: East Midlands China Business BureauBesides the detailed summary of the case, what I found most interesting was its explanation as to how the court calculated its- RMB 500,000 ($64,000) damages award. Here’s an excerpt:“The compensation claimed by the plaintiffs totalled RMB 1,060,000 including RMB 500,000 for economic losses and RMB 560,000 for reasonable expenses and legal fees. The defendants argued that the calculation of the plaintiffs’ profits was groundless, and thus should not be ...
WARNING: Copyright Infringement Notification
2008-01-31 14:56:00 In one of the severla internet groups i belog, I read the notification and though it might be a good bit of information to pass on. we have all heard about the RIAA and the MPAA suing people, but what actually happens before you get served with court papers? This letter is a typical warning.WARNING: Copyright Infringement Notification We are writing as a courtesy to let you know that we have received notification from one or more owners of copyrights claiming that their work has been transmitted over the Internet from your account without their permission. Copyright owners may include motion picture studios, the recording industry or others who produce or distribute legally protected material. (Please see enclosed notice(s)). We are concerned that either you or a person with access to your account may be unknowingly participating in certain file sharing or server-related activities that led to this complaint.As you may recall, the Optimum Online Terms of Service posted at www....
No Temporary Restraining Order Enjoining Use of COMMON SENSE
2008-01-31 05:01:00 When things are slow in Seattle……STL reports on trademark issues elsewhere. That’s what I’ve been doing for the last couple of days.Here’s a new trademark decision from the Northern District of California. Plaintiff Common Sense Media, Inc., applied for a temporary restraining order against defendant Common Sense Issues, Inc., based on plaintiff’s allegations that defendant is infringing its registered trademarks, COMMON SENSE MEDIA and COMMON SENSE MEDIA and Design. In particular, plaintiff asked the court to temporarily restrain defendant from using its COMMON SENSE ISSUES mark or any similar designation.On Jan. 25, Judge Claudia Wilken denied plaintiff’s application. She found that “CSM has not made a sufficient showing of likely success on the merits of its claims and of the immediate threat of irreparable harm to justify granting the relief it seeks. Although ‘Common Sense Issues’ is similar to CSM’s tr...
Wrestler "Warrior" Avoids Game Maker's Motion to Dismiss Trademark Claims
2008-01-30 06:48:00 Ultimate Creations, Inc., the licensing company owned by former professional wrestler Warrior (his legal name) brought suit in the District of Arizona against video game maker THQ Inc. over video games that use Ultimate’s WARRIOR registered trademark and and trade dress in the wrestler’s costume and image. THQ moved for summary judgment on grounds of fair use and the protectability of Ultimate’s unregistered trade dress. On Jan. 24, Judge Stephen McNamee found in Ultimate’s favor.The court summarized the facts as follows:“Warrior claims that his wrestling character was distinctive because he had long, flowing hair, wore arm pads and knee pads with a fringe, displayed on his costume and face a logo roughly in the shape of an upside-down ‘W’ — the logo, originated from ‘Parts Unknown,’ had an exceptionally muscular build, and used ‘signature’ moves in his wrestling performan...
Palantir.net Gets Preliminary Injunction Against Palantir Technologies
2008-01-25 05:01:00 Palantir Technologies Inc. v. Palantir.net, Inc. is a trademark case from the Northern District of California concerning the parties’ right to use the trademark PALANTIR. For added color, the case involves a bit of lore from the Lord of the Rings. As Judge Charles Breyer explained, a palantir is a “magical artifact from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is a stone that functions somewhat like a crystal ball; when one looks in it, one can communicate with other Stones and anyone who might be looking into them. People of great power can manipulate the Stones to see virtually any part of the world.”Palantir.net’-;s predecessor began providing Web design, development, and database services nationally under the Palantir name in 1996. It acquired the palantir.net domain name in 1997. Palantir.net incorporated in 2000 and obtained a federal registration for PALANTIR in 2006. It sells to educational and cultural institutions, as well as financial, c...
Microsoft Wins Most of Georgia Counterfeiting Case
2008-01-21 03:59:00 In 2006, Microsoft Corp. brought suit in the Northern District of Georgia against Silver Star Micro, Inc., and its principal, Chase Campbell, for trademark and copyright infringement. On Jan. 6, Judge William Duffey, Jr., granted in large part Microsoft’s motion for summary judgment and imposed a permanent injunction against the defendants.The court found in April 2005, Silver Star Micro, doing business as USA Tech Store on the Internet at www.techusastore.com, sold a counterfeit copy of MICROSOFT SQL SERVER 2000. Microsoft notified defendants that it had purchased improperly sold Microsoft software and demanded that defendants cease further infringing activity.In September 2005, law enforcement executed on a search warrant at defendants’ premises and seized disks containing counterfeit copies of MICROSOFT OFFICE 97, MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL, 72 counterfeit Microsoft Product Key labels and 300 units of Microsoft Volume License Media.In December 2005 and on ...
Google's Response To Patent Infringement Litigation
2008-01-15 11:51:00 During November last year Boston's Northeastern University and technology company Jarg sued Google for patent infringements, see: Northeastern University Takes Google Inc To Court!. Now we have a response from Google, and it's an outright denial of the charges leveled against them. Picture Credits: The US Patent & Trademark Office The patent #5,694,593 attributes the patent to Kenneth P Baclawski who's been professor from the Northeastern University as well as one of the founders of Jarg. The patent is about the search technology wherein a search query is fragmented into smaller chunks and distributed across multiple systems in a network to enhance processing speeds. The allegations follow that Google uses the technology which has been exclusively licensed to Baclawski. Google has responded saying that the patent is invalid which has been rebutted by the other party. It seems it will be a couple of years before the lawsuit is sorted out. Via: Macworld
Wyclef Accused Of Copyright Infringement
2008-01-11 07:13:00 Hip-Hop star Wyclef Jean is the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit surrounding a song on his sixth album Carnival 2: Memoirs of an Immigrant. Brooklyn rapper Blahz, born Martell Ellis, filed a lawsuit in Manhattan U.S. District Court accusing Wyclef of sampling his group Blahzay Blahzay?s 1995 hit single ?Danger? without permission. In addition to Wyclef, Sony BMG is named in the lawsuit, which seeks an undisclosed amount which sources claimed could be as high as $50...(read more)
Financial Firms Fight Over SUMMIT CAPITAL PARTNERS Trademark
2008-01-09 04:59:00 On Dec. 28, Seattle-based Summit Capital Group, LLC, and affiliated financial services companies filed suit in the Western District against the Boston-based Summit Partners, LP, venture capital firm, seeking a declaration of non-infringement and non-dilution of the defendant’s SUMMIT PARTNERS trademark.The complaint states: “Plaintiffs or its affiliates have done business under the tradename SUMMIT CAPITAL PARTNERS since at least 1986. One or more of the Plaintiffs registered the tradename, SUMMIT CAPITAL PARTNERS, with the Washington State corporate registry in 1996 and has used that tradename continuously, without interruption, ever since.”The complaint further states that defendant sent plaintiffs a letter in Sept. 2007 claiming that plaintiffs’ use of SUMMIT CAPITAL PARTNERS infringes upon and dilutes defendant’s rights in several trademarks and trade names. The letter, which plaintiffs attached to their complaint, specifies...
Laches Bars Infringement Suit by Wailers (Tacoma) Against Wailers (Jamaica)
2008-01-04 04:32:00 STL readers will recall that the Wailers rock and roll band from Tacoma brought suit in June against the Wailers reggae band from Jamaica for trademark infringement, dilution, unfair competition, and cybersquatting, based on plaintiffs’ WAILERS registered trademark. Yesterday, Western District Judge Ronald Leighton found that plaintiffs filed their suit after the analogous statute of limitations had expired and, therefore, granted summary judgment in favor of defendants based on laches.The court found: “Defendants stress that Plaintiffs were aware Defendants were calling themselves the ‘Wailers’ since the mid to late 1970s, when they were asked about their relationship to Bob Marley. Plaintiffs argue, without legal or logical support, that there is some meaningful difference between the names ‘Wailers’ (standing alone) and ‘Wailers’ in the context of ‘Bob Marley and the Wailers.’ They clai...
Personal use is copyright infringement?
2007-12-31 20:28:00 In the latest example of how the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has utterly failed to understand and adapt to the changing music landscape, RIAA has brought suit against a man for copying his legally purchased CDs to his personal computer for personal use. In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer. The industry’s lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are “unauthorized copies” of copyrighted recordings. Apparently, if you choose to fight back against RIAA’s overreaching on copyright infringement issues (as Mr. Howell apparently did), you can be sued for having the audacity to assert fai...
Samsung Accuses Sharp of Patent Infringement
2007-12-30 17:07:00 Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it filed a complaint with American authorities over alleged unfair trade practices by Japanese rival Sharp Corp., fueling an intensifying legal battle over flat panel technology.Samsung said in a statement that it filed the complaint with the United States International Trade Commission on Dec. 21, claiming that Sharp and two U.S. subsidiaries imported and sold liquid crystal display products that infringe on four of Samsung's U.S. patents.The complaint came after Sharp earlier this month sued Samsung in a South Korean court, also alleging patent violations for LCDs. It demanded damages and a halt to manufacturing and sales of affected TVs and display panels.In August, Sharp filed a similar lawsuit against Samsung in federal court in the U.S. state of Texas. Samsung said Thursday it was pursuing federal lawsuits in Texas and Delaware against Sharp.The string of lawsuits between the two companies — two of the world's biggest makers of LCD pan...
Use of Same Trademark for a Different Product Didn't Infringe Registered Ma
2007-12-30 06:33:00 The Ninth Circuit yesterday clarified what it takes for the owner of a federally registered trademark to succeed in an infringement action against another user of the mark in connection with goods or services that are different than those specified in the owner’s trademark registration.Applied Information Sciences Corp. owns the registered trademark SMARTSEARCH for certain computer-related functions, and claimed that eBay, Inc. uses the same SMARTSEARCH mark for its Internet auction Web site, which AIS contended will cause confusion with its own SMARTSEARCH product. The Central District of California disagreed, and granted summary judgment to eBay.The Ninth Circuit questioned the Central District’s reasoning, but affirmed the decision since AIS failed to produce any admissible evidence tending to show a likelihood of confusion. The Ninth Circuit found:“[A] plaintiff trademark owner must establish a valid, protectable interest...
QKphone is Thick on the Features and the Copyright Infringement
2007-12-28 14:59:00 QKphone is a dual-band GSM phone with the exterior that suggests it was either custom-made for Indiana Jones or a genuine production model straight out of retro sci-fi. Besides the illegal Mercedes Benz logo up front (not the first we’ve covered), I’m all sold on this Chinese gadget. Specs: - Two screens, one 2.8 inches ...
By: PMP Today
Google To Face Litigation Over Patent Infringement
2007-12-28 14:56:00 The big Giant of Internet search engines would have to answer the charges which a Wisconsin company has thrown at Google. (...)
Samsung seeks US probe of rival Sharp for alleged patent infringement
2007-12-28 00:00:00 SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it filed a complaint with U.S. authorities over alleged unfair trade practices by Japanese rival Sharp Corp., fueling an intensifying legal battle over flat panel technology.Samsung said in a statement that it filed the complaint with the United States International Trade Commission on Dec. 21, claiming that Sharp and two U.S. subsidiaries imported and sold liquid crystal display products that infringe on four of Sams ...
Use of Mark with Web Site Not Sufficient to Establish Use in Commerce
2007-12-27 01:40:00 Plaintiff Robert Guichard is an independent film producer who is working on a proposed, unproduced screenplay titled “Whisper of the Blue” about an ex-Navy SEAL who sets out to find a ship of sunken gold and comes across a modern-day pirate. In February 2006, Mr. Guichard launched a Web site at www.whisperoftheblue.co-m that contains information about his project.Filiming on the set of “Whisper of the Blue”In Oct. 2006, Mr. Guichard sued in the Northern District of California to enjoin defendant Universal City Studios LLLP from using “Whisper” as the title of its upcoming motion picture, which had been in production since November 2004. Universal’s movie is about the kidnapping of a seemingly meek 10-year-old boy whose kidnappers soon realize is far less innocent than he appears and, while he may be quiet, they had better be careful because his whisper “may be the last thing that they hear.”Universal’s &#...
T-Mobile Sues Telus for Copyright Infringement
2007-12-20 00:00:00 Back in May Canadian Telus Mobility launched the unlimited-calling service, where users get unlimited minutes and SMS for 5 selected phone numbers.You know, the same as T-Mobile's "myFaves". But for some strange reason ... [Continue reading T-Mobile Sues Telus for Copyright Infringement] ... |
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