Alt Legal IP News – Issue #45
Hannah Samendinger | July 11, 2017
Alt Trademarks is back! Listen to our interview with Ryan Morrison of Morrison Lee. We talk video games and Reddit AMAs. Check out the episode here.
Look at That Logo
– Rideshare apps are now so common that many businesses and travel hubs designate specific areas for those drivers and passengers. If the business uses the app’s logo, is it nominative fair use?
– High fashion has begun using multiple logos, creating logo mash-ups. Is that legal?
– Once upon a time, logos were physical objects.
You Grow That?
– While marijuana-centric businesses face some obstacles in obtaining a trademark registration, patents are a different story. How could cannabis patents pave the way for future lawsuits?
– Rudolph Hass, of Hass avocado fame, only earned $4,800 from his patent.
– Apple has big plans for the bed. A new patent application reveals sensors for detecting bedtime rituals and a power nap function.
The Fun Stuff
– KitKat recently lost a bid to register their four-fingered candy bar shape. Why wasToblerone able to get protection, but KitKat was not?
– The USPTO was a hotspot for celebrity gossip recently. Fans were able to figure out the names of Beyonce and Jay Z’s twins from a trademark application.
– TTABlog released the mid-year report, highlighting 18 precedential opinions that have occurred so far.
Odds and Ends
– Is patent trolling dead or just moving to Delaware?
– With the monkey selfie case before the Supreme Court, it’s time for another question.Should “robot artists” be given copyright protection?
– In the last digest, I included a story about Zillow threatening legal action against McMansion Hell. They’ve decided that wasn’t a great idea after all.
– Is intellectual property law hurting classic video game consumers?
– Amazon is going underwater, with plans to summon items with acoustic vibrations.
– A group of illegal street sellers in Barcelona are launching their own brand.