Alt Legal IP News – Issue #99
Hannah Samendinger | July 31, 2018
Internet Age
– The man behind the viral Honey Badger Don’t Care video has another shot at making greeting card companies care about his trademark lawsuit. Check out the opinion here.
– An attorney’s bull-riding advertising has resulted in an indictment for allegedly calling in a coordinated cyber attack against his critics.
– Universal Music has withdrawn a DMCA takedown notice for a video of thousands of Prince fans singing Purple Rain the day after the singer died.
– Sometimes Twitter really delivers: “Transformative work of the day, Willy Wonka edition.”
Patent Seekers
– Clint Eastwood has “undertaken herculean efforts” to reclaim patents designed to combat diabetes and other diseases.
– A retired professor is suing Lyft for patent infringement, claiming their business model infringes on his ride-sharing patent.
– Women of color have fueled much of the growth in women-owned businesses, but they are “far less likely than men” to hold patents.
Internet Age Pt. 2
– Slack may have won the office messaging wars. Stride and HipChat are shutting down operations, transferring their intellectual property to Slack as part of a “partnership.”
– Groupon was found to have infringed 4 of IBM’s e-commerce patents, costing Groupon $83 million.
– A bedding company is suing Amazon for showing inferior products when consumers search variations of the company’s name.
Odds and Ends
– Balenciaga is under fire for a kitschy New York souvenir bag they debuted as part of their 2018 Resort Collection. A souvenir wholesaler claims the bag is infringing on their copyright.
– A European court has ruled that the taste of cheese is not eligible for copyright protection. You can find an in-depth analysis of the opinion here.
– Trademarks are having a moment. The Senate passed a resolution that recognizes the need for more public awareness around trademarks, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the newest trademark advocate.
– Following a settlement and the surrender of two trademark registrations, #Cockygate is finally over.
– This band has been trying to register their name since the USPTO rejected their application for being scandalous in May 2015. Is it finally time to grant their registration?