The number of Airbnb listings in Boston has been cut in half due to local ordinances regulating the operation of short-term rentals. Boston is not the only city pushing back on Airbnb, a company that is battling local city...more
12/18/2019
/ AirBnB ,
Homeowners ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Local Ordinance ,
Occupancy Tax ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rental Property ,
Sharing Economy ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Tax Revenues ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
It is a little-known fact that, in 1994, Blockbuster video was the first store to display pre-paid gift cards for sale. Unlike VHS rentals, the gift card industry has only grown in popularity. Gift cards from major retailers...more
11/13/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Article III ,
Class Action ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Gift-Cards ,
Permanent Impairments ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retail Market
Retailers generally appreciate that their brands are among their most valuable assets. But it can be challenging for them to know how current trademark law will affect their selection, registration, and enforcement of those...more
7/10/2019
/ Brand ,
Business Development ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Branding ,
First Amendment ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Licensing Rights ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Personal Brands ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks
Yesterday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that, beginning August 3, 2019, an applicant, registrant, or party to a trademark proceeding whose domicile is not located within the United States or its...more
Last week, members of the Goulston & Storrs intellectual property practice group joined over 11,000 attendees from around the world for the 141st Annual Meeting of the International Trademark Association(INTA)....more
Grocery shoppers used to make the final decision of their supermarket trip in the checkout line. Reaching for boxes of cereal, cartons of eggs, and jars of jam in their rolling metal carts, placing those items onto...more
We’ve written about changes in the way goods are bought and sold, from brick-and-mortar to e-commerce. But what about how goods are being paid for? ...more
This year marks the first Christmas in modern memory without Toys "R" Us, Inc. The loss of the international toy seller leaves billions of dollars in toy sales up for grabs, and its slow and steady decline may serve as a...more
With the end of the year approaching and the holiday shopping season in full swing, now is an ideal time for brand owners to audit their trademark portfolios. ...more
As discussed in an earlier blog post, conflict between retail employers and their employees over the use of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter is increasingly common....more
Counterfeiting has moved beyond high-priced luxury goods to low-cost everyday items. Many of these fake products pose real dangers: face masks with arsenic; phone adapters that can electrocute you; computer chargers that fry...more
11/7/2018
/ Brand ,
Corporate Branding ,
Counterfeiting ,
Digital Marketplace ,
E-Commerce ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internet Retailers ,
Online Platforms ,
Retail Market ,
Risk Management ,
Trademarks ,
Websites
Bike shares have been around for several years, but the newest iteration of the two-wheeled trend is causing concern among local government officials and citizens alike. Beyond questions of profitability and durability,...more
During the week of May 20, 2018, members of the Goulston & Storrs Intellectual Property Group joined over 10,500 attendees from around the world for the 140th Annual Meeting of the International Trademark Association (INTA). ...more
In February 2018, L.L. Bean made the tough decision to change its lifetime return policy, which had been in existence for over a century. Following the policy change, the company received backlash from its customers, with...more
For years, the signature requirement for completing a credit card transaction has felt something like an obsolete means of confirming a user’s identity. ...more
4/18/2018
/ Banking Sector ,
Biometric Information ,
Chip and PIN ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
Fraud ,
Merchants ,
Point of Sale Terminals ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Technology
In February 2017, we reported on a surge in website accessibility lawsuits brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). This litigation trend has accelerated over the past year and shows no signs of slowing...more
3/21/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Internet Retailers ,
Mobile Apps ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
The skies are a little friendlier for drones now that the Dutch police have suspended their squad of drone-hunting eagles. This is also great news for retailers, as drone popularity continues to soar with overall electronics...more
1/10/2018
/ Airspace ,
Appeals ,
Drones ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Market ,
Technology Sector ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
As the 2017 holiday season nears, consumers are getting ready to open their wallets and retailers are hoping their promotions will attract those consumers. Generation Z (“Gen Z”), which includes young people born in the...more
According to recent Nielsen ratings, the most watched TV shows and live TV events top off at around 20 million viewers. In contrast, the most popular personalities on various social media platforms have well over 100 million...more
10/4/2017
/ Advertising ,
Brand ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Influencers ,
Internet Retailers ,
Marketing ,
Online Endorsements ,
Retail Market ,
Social Media ,
Websites
Last year, scores of top fashion designers defied convention by abandoning traditional shipping schedules, which favored delivering collections four to six months after they appeared on Fashion Week runways, and moved instead...more
In light of the sea change in the current retail landscape, which was punctuated by the recent acquisition of Whole Foods by Amazon, retailers today are forced to ask themselves: How will we combat disruption in our industry...more
Does your retail business conduct sales online? For most retailers today, the answer is likely yes. This means that the recent surge of class action lawsuits against merchants arising out of a consumer protection law in New...more
A recent U.S. Supreme Court copyright decision analyzing cheerleader uniforms may have a profound impact on retailers, and on the fashion industry in particular. On March 22, 2017, the Supreme Court held in Star Athletica,...more
4/19/2017
/ Cheerleaders ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Fashion Design ,
Graphic Designs ,
Retail Market ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 101 ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
Uniforms
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) “safe harbor” provisions shield certain online service providers from copyright infringement liability arising from content posted by users on their website. Provided that the...more
Whether resulting from a planned cyberattack or mere carelessness, data breaches are on the rise. In 2015, 781 data breaches were reported across the United States, with the average breach costing $3.8 million. In 2016, the...more
12/1/2016
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gramm-Leach-Blilely Act ,
Hackers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers