The Supreme Court heard oral argument in February in Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy, a case that promised to resolve a split among the U.S. Courts of Appeal relating to the scope of damages available to copyright...more
4/26/2024
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Damages ,
Discovery ,
Discovery Rule ,
Music Industry ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations ,
The Copyright Act ,
Warner Chappell Music v Nealy
Established through the Charter of the French Language, French is the official language of the Province of Québec. The Charter applies to businesses located in Québec and to other businesses providing services and selling...more
Late last month, Dorsey led a panel at the inaugural Investing in Women Cannabis Pioneers - The Brand Builders investor conference put on by Roth. The panel was made up of female business leaders at Bhang, Leafly, Insa,...more
10/25/2021
/ Advertising ,
Business Strategies ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Content Marketing ,
Content Strategy ,
Corporate Branding ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dispensaries ,
Distributors ,
Product Packaging ,
Social Networks ,
State and Local Government
A new post-mortem right of publicity bill that was signed into law by Governor Cuomo on November 30, 2020, will soon take effect on May 29, 2021. The new law recognizes post-mortem rights of publicity in New York for the...more
Last week we quickly pivoted from watching the 24/7 “Map Show” to spending our screen time learning at the ANA 2020 Marketing Law Conference. It was a great three days in Chicago in our pajamas of educational seminars....more
11/18/2020
/ Business Development ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Contests & Promotions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Digital Media ,
Drug & Alcohol Abuse ,
Food Labeling ,
Influencers ,
Marketing ,
Media ,
Online Reviews ,
Professional Conferences ,
Wine & Alcohol
We have previously blogged about the rise of computer generated imagery (CGI) influencers, which are one form of social media bots currently invading the online world. Bots are automated software that perform actions using a...more
10/14/2020
/ Advertising ,
Bots ,
Congressional Committees ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Information Reports ,
Marketing ,
Online Platforms ,
Popular ,
Social Networks
We recently blogged about an April 2020 decision of the federal court for the Southern District of New York, which dismissed a copyright infringement suit brought by Stephanie Sinclair, a Pulitzer-Prize winning...more
A recent decision of the Southern District of New York shields digital publishers from copyright infringement when embedding public Instagram posts in news pieces posted online.
In the case, Stephanie Sinclair, a...more
On April 8, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision on an appeal from the refusal of registration of a color trademark by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. In this case, the applicant, Forney...more
On November 25, 2019, the Food and Drug Administration sent a wave of warning letters to fifteen CBD companies claiming they are breaking federal food, drug, and cosmetic laws based on their current CBD product marketing and...more
It is no secret about the proliferation of copyright lawsuits that have been filed over the past four years over the unauthorized use of photos online, many against media companies that seek to shield themselves from...more
11/5/2019
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Commercial Use ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Dismissals ,
Fair Use ,
Media ,
Motion for Reconsideration ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Online Platforms ,
Photographs ,
Sanctions ,
Transformative Use
When a judicial opinion refers to a “bitter feud”, a plaintiff “beset by acrimony”, and a “rock star” banker who “faced his peripeteia” (we looked it up for you - it’s Greek for “reversal of fortune”), you know there’s gotta...more
We recently posted about the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24th holding in Iancu v. Brunetti, which upheld a ruling that the Lanham Act’s bar on the registration of scandalous or immoral marks is unconstitutional because it...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office will now allow federal trademark registration for marks used on some hemp-based products, including those containing hemp-derived CBD, except for foods, beverages, dietary...more
Recent articles in Forbes and National Law Review highlight that the Federal Trade Commission continues to have advertising agencies in its sights when it comes to the role that agencies play in creating deceptive...more
On the heels of launching its expedited cancellation program to clear deadwood from the Trademark Register, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has now pivoted to a related area: deadwood prevention. The PTO has issued a...more
As the U.S. cannabis market continues to grow at an extraordinary pace, a number of celebrities and companies have extended their names or brands to cannabis products via partnerships with licensed growers and dispensaries. ...more
While a number of Dorsey lawyers have just returned from MJBizCon, Dorsey also recently led a panel on U.S. and Canadian cannabis branding and marketing issues at the Annual Marketing Law conference of the Association of...more
The TMCA is back from the 2018 ANA/BAA Marketing Law Conference, Upping Your Game: Pragmatic Business and Compliance Strategies. While in Chicago, we had the privilege of obtaining a comprehensive review of this year in...more
In the not too distant past, consumer product brands hired celebrity figures to act as their official ambassadors. These celebrities appeared in traditional media such as TV commercials and celebrity interviews in print...more
Two recent decisions of the Federal Court of Canada pave the way for U.S. and other non-Canadian businesses to secure and maintain trademark rights for their retail or hotel operations even where they do not have a bricks and...more
10/23/2018
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cross-Border ,
Dollar General ,
Expungement ,
Hilton ,
Hotels ,
Mobile Apps ,
Retailers ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Websites
We previously posted about a four year legal battle that arose from a refusal by Iowa State University to let its school logos be used on t-shirts by an on-campus pro-cannabis group, and the free speech implications of this...more
It is hard to imagine that any one person could initiate separate lawsuits resulting in decisions of substantial importance to the entire U.S. entertainment industry. And when that person is iconic actress Olivia de...more
A recent out-of-court settlement following an 8th Circuit decision in Gerlich v. Leath highlights some of the unique legal issues that surround the branding of products in the cannabis space.
In 2012, two students at Iowa...more
2/13/2018
/ Brand ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Free Speech ,
Logos ,
Marijuana ,
Students ,
Team Mascots ,
Trademark Licenses ,
Trademarks ,
Universities ,
Viewpoint Discrimination
We have discussed here before new federal legislative protections that are in place to give consumers wide latitude to post online reviews of businesses, whether they be good or bad. A recent decision of the Appellate...more