Alt Legal IP News – Issue #56
Hannah Samendinger | September 27, 2017
Check out our latest Alt Trademarks episode! This episode I spoke with Niki Black (MyCase) about trends in legal tech, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. Check out the episode here.
Are You Thirsty?
– Yoko Ono stepped in to halt the sale of “John Lemon” lemonade.
– Conor McGregor planned to launch a whiskey brand called “Notorious,” but another brewer already owns a trademark registration for the word.
– Following the launch of Fenty, Rihanna’s new beauty line, fans were excited to learn she is launching a wine company. But she isn’t. Check out our recent blog post about other secrets hiding in trademark filings.
Are You Watching?
– Netflix is involved in an ongoing trademark dispute with the family of Pablo Escobar over the show “Narcos.” The dispute recently escalated when a location scout was shot north of Mexico City.
– What happens when a well-known author is sued for copyright infringement by the author of an unpublished book?
– The lawyers for Velcro have one request: Don’t say Velcro!
Are You Ready for the Future?
– This month marks the five-year anniversary of the inter partes review process. The process has saved billions of dollars, so why is it under attack?
– A new ethics opinion in Nebraska says that lawyers can accept bitcoin, as long as they immediately convert the bitcoin into US dollars.
– The Supreme Court could revisit the 2014 Alice v CLS Bank decision.
Odds and Ends
– The first and most famous verse of the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” belongs in the public domain according to a Manhattan judge.
– Oklahoma State and Ohio State were disputing the right to use OSU, but the universities have opted to carry on in “peaceful co-existence.”
– The #NoFreePhotos hashtag popped up on Instagram during Fashion Week. Why?
– A forthcoming paper examines the intellectual property surrounding internet folklore, like Slenderman, and argues that these works are part of the creative commons.