Owners of copyright in characters are often well-advised not to press their claims too far in litigation at the risk of losing their rights altogether. This may be what motivated
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Trademark Infringement
Sherlock Holmes’s Sister Subject of Copyright Infringement Claim
A planned Netflix movie about Sherlock Holmes’s sister is the target of a lawsuit from the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the legendary detective. The estate has…
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Ninth Circuit Rejects San Diego Comic Con Appeal
The organizers of a Salt Lake City comic convention suffered another blow in their long-running trademark battle with the organizers of the San Diego Comic-Con.
The Salt Lake event styled…
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San Diego Smackdown Chapter V: The Empire Strikes Back

Our story so far:
Comic-Con is a registered trademark of SDCC, the organizers of the…
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San Diego Smackdown, the Final Chapter?
The jury has spoken. After a saga worth of Homer, Comic-Con is a valid trademark.
The battle began when, the organizers of San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), the 50-year old grandaddy…
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Coachella Organizers Challenge Use of “Filmchella” for Film Festival
Fox associates Megan Center and Elizabeth Patton wrote a duo of posts for Fox’s advertising law blog Above the Fold examining a trademark dispute surrounding the term “Coachella.” The case…
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San Diego Smackdown, Chapter 2: Gag Order Overturned on Appeal

I’ve blogged here and here about the pending trademark infringement case brought by SDCC, the registered owners…
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San Diego Smackdown: Comic Con Trademark Fight Goes First Amendment
The stakes just raised in an imminent trial over the validity of the San Diego Comic-Con trademark. What started out as a straightforward trademark dispute has now implicated First Amendment…
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Is Comic-Con the Victim of Genericide?

A federal judge in San Diego has cleared for trial a case that may strip San Diego…
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Drug Cartel Heirs Have Netflix in Their Crosshairs
Drug cartels are notorious for murder and extortion, but the family of the late drug lord Pablo Escobar has unleashed the scariest weapon of all–trademark litigation.
Escobar, Inc. has a…
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